If I'm Dreaming Wake Me
by Miss Raye
Summary: Starting with the Metro Court hostage crisis... things take a turn when figures on the canvas get a mind of their own.
1. Chapter 1

**Part One**  
**One Moment in Time**

Elizabeth stumbled a little, her hand reaching out for the wall to steady herself, but the hand on her arm jerked her along. "Wait, wait," she breathed, "let me get my balan-"

"You're getting out of here, hurry up."

She somehow managed to keep her feet under her as the masked man dragged her along the hallway. She tried to look back, to see if anyone else was following them. "But why me? There are other people in there who-"

"Just you," the harsh words startled her and she stumbled along behind him, "that's all."

There were a pair of doors just ahead with a blinking sign above it.

EXIT.

"But, Emily and-"

He shoved the door open and she stumbled out into the cold night air. She had no idea where they were. None of the buildings looked familiar. She turned back to the masked man. "I don't understand-"

The flash of headlights blinded her and she threw up a hand to block the light and stepped back as the brakes of a car squealed to a halt and when she looked up the flash of a Mercedes logo glowed in the half light of the exit.

"Elizabeth? Get in the car."

She was startled to say the least and turned toward the sound. Two flashes of light followed slightly by the unmistakable double roar of gunfire.

Elizabeth heard a thud and turned. The masked gunman who had brought her outside was sliding down the exit door, leaving a slug-like trail of blood on the metal behind him. "What? Who? Ow!"

A hand grabbed at her arm and pulled her toward the car, shoving her into the backseat. A moment later the car was in motion.

**Eight hours before General Hospital**

Epiphany set the phone down in its cradle and flagged Elizabeth as she moved toward the nurse's station. "Elizabeth?"  
Smiling at her supervisor, Elizabeth stopped at the station and set down her clipboard. "Hey, Epiphany."

Nodding toward the elevator the older woman smiled. "You're going to take your break now and go see Dr. Lee."

Elizabeth's shoulders slumped. "Epiphany, I told you not to worry, that-"

Epiphany touched Elizabeth's hand in a sudden and unexpected show of affection. "No one else seems to be looking after you and from what you said earlier, you need to see Kelly."

Nodding, Elizabeth let go of her chart and turned toward the elevators. "I'll go and see her and when she says there's nothing wrong... I'll use the rest of my break to go get some tea."

Smirking, Epiphany went back to her charts.

**the Corinthos Morgan Office**

Jason sat in his office, the door locked and his mind busy. Busy with anything, BUT business. Of all things he was thinking about Cameron Webber. He remembered the moment in the courthouse when he felt Elizabeth's son move inside of her, his hand pressed tightly against her belly. Something deep inside of him had held onto that memory so tightly that even know his palm fairly tingled with it. Opening his hand he looked at his bare palm and sighed.

Knowing she was pregnant... even if it was with Lucky's child... he wanted to be there. He wanted to see the joy on her face with every kick and flutter of movement. He wanted to rub her feet and cook for her. He wanted to be there and rub her back or whatever else she needed during labor. He wanted to help knowing that Lucky wouldn't be much help with anything, except giving Elizabeth stress.

**General Hospital**

Kelly clutched her chart to her chest as she moved closer to Elizabeth, her sweetest expression on her face. Elizabeth was instantly worried. "What's wrong?"

Reaching out a hand, Kelly gave Elizabeth's hand a squeeze. "Your blood pressure is crazy and if what Epiphany said is true, we need you to slow down."

Elizabeth waved off her friend's concern. "My eyes were just a little tired, that's all."

Looking at her chart, Kelly shook her head. "Blurred vision, sudden weight gain-"

"Hey, " she argued, "I had a few extra brownies, sue me!"

"Even your increased nausea... we have to do some tests, Liz... you could be suffering from preeclampsia."

"It's just stress," the young nurse insisted, "with all the secrets and lies and Lucky's addiction, I can't get two minutes to rest and-"

"Liz," Kelly cut her off, her eyes dark and serious, "you can't keep this up. It might not just be the stress, but it can't help. You have to come back for the test results tomorrow."

Elizabeth looked over at the vials of blood that Kelly had drawn and the sample jar from her urine test. "Oh goody... I've always hated tests."

"You also have to think about Cameron." Kelly could see her words startled Elizabeth. "If you have preeclampsia... who will take care of him if you die?"

The room went quiet. Deathly quiet. Elizabeth stared at her friend and saw the truth in her eyes. Death. Cameron an orphan. Kelly wasn't just trying to scare her... she meant it.

Slowly Elizabeth nodded and trembled slightly. "I get it... I really do..." Hugging her arms across her chest she took in a deep breath. "I'll come in tomorrow, Kelly... I promise. And whatever the tests say, I'll deal with it then... but right now I have to go and get ready for the Hospital Thing at the Metro Court."

Kelly watched Elizabeth scoot off the exam table with a wistful smile. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow."

**20 minutes before the start of the Hospital Benefit**

Elizabeth walked down the sidewalk toward the Metro Court hotel with her cell phone in her hands and her purse under her arm. Her fingers moved swiftly over the keys as she wrote out a text message. She didn't want to put too much information in it... there were still too many people that might use her life against her. Still, she'd been thinking about what Kelly had said to her and she'd come to a decision.

Send to - Jason  
_We need to talk about something._  
_Heading to Metro Court for GH function._  
_Please call me tomorrow so we can meet._  
_This is very important._

She hit the send button and waited for the little beep that confirmed it was sent before dropping the phone into her purse. There was a little lightness to her step even though her ankles were beginning to swell again. She had finally made the decision that she was going to tell Jason the truth... and then, they'd figure out what to do... together.

Elizabeth opened the door of the Metro Court and joined Emily and Nikolas on one side of the room. Emily greeted her in her 'new' usual way. A hug, a kiss on her cheek and a gentle rub over her pregnant belly. "How is baby doing?"

"Well," Elizabeth's expression sobered a bit, "I had an appointment with Kelly today and-"

Gunfire erupted in the room and everyone turned to see a group of masked gunmen spreading through the lobby of the Metro Court.  
Elizabeth's hand wrapped protectively over her belly as she moved behind Nikolas. Her heart leapt into her throat and she whispered a prayer. "Jason."


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two

**Inside the Metro Court**

As Sam went for the emergency button, Elizabeth was still hidden behind Nikolas, her petite size giving her a few moments of peace.

She pulled her cell from her purse and started to dial as the gunman made their rounds asking for jewelry and cell phones. The cell phone was wrenched from her hand. "No calls!"

Elizabeth was lifted off of her feet and the pressure the gunman applied to her middle sent a pain stabbing through her. She could barely hear Emily pleading for her... "She's pregnant!"

"Then," argued the leader, "perhaps she should consider that before doing anything foolish."

Her eyes awash in tears for her friend Nikolas who tried to stand between her and the gunmen, Elizabeth nodded and lowered her head.

She had been one number away from dialing Jason's number. It had worked once before, but now, now it looked as though they were going to have to wait and see if the men storming into the building were as good at their jobs as Jason was at his.

At the leader's command, Maxie is taken toward the vault and Elizabeth watches her go with a mixture of worry and fear. No matter what Maxie had done to her... and how much pain she had caused... this was no way for her to suffer merely for working at the front desk.

Praying for a quick end to this didn't work as soon as a warning bell is sounded and the men from the vault come running back in. All eyes turn to Sam. The leader turns his anger on Sam. "Perhaps I did not make myself clear!" His gun is trained on Sam and his arm is rock-solid and still. "If you had not pulled this little 'stunt' my men and I would be leaving at this moment, but now... since we have to stay..."

He waved her away from the desk with the barrel of his gun, "then we ought to make ourselves comfortable."

**Outside the Metro Court**

Jason pauses just outside the door. The darkened glass panes are a curious site. They were frosted as a matter of design, but in the middle of the evening... dark? Leaning closer he sees the problem. The doors have been painted and there, inside... Max and Sonny and a number of other people are being held at gunpoint.

The sudden thunder of noise behind him is his new worry. The PCPD in full force are taking up places across the street. Turning quickly, Jason runs for the cars and spots Mac amidst the nameless see of police faces. "Mac, you have to stay back... they have hostages inside."

Mac's look is one of curiosity and shrewd evaluation. "You have anything to do with this, Jason? What about Sonny?"

Jason shook his head. "This isn't about us. Sonny's here for a hospital benefit."

Mac nods. "That's what I was worried about, pretty much an invitation list of 'high society.'" Waving his hand at Cruz, Mac is given the bullhorn. "Then let's 'knock' and let them know they're not alone."

**Inside the Metro Court**

Giving Sonny an 'I-told-you-so' look, the leader sighs and just as quickly perks up. "Well, since it's too late to do as this gentleman says and leave... we'll just have to settle in for the long run... and maybe play a game. He turns over a pencil cup and begins his 'name-game' eager to see how much he can push the buttons of his 'guests.'

_kick ass carly, menacing max, screw you lulu, nightmare nikolas, babysbreath elizabeth, intern emily, jobbin' robin, howlin' alan, sweet sam, ready eddy..._

And so it continues until...

Michael Corinthos, Jr.

Smiling behind the crude opening of his mask, 'FUN ONE,' lifts his pistol and shoots.

**Outside the Metro Court**

Jason, his keen hearing alerted by the sudden eruption of sound, goes quiet... in body as well as mind. He knows the primary targets for gunfire and he can deal with that... but there were bound to be others in the lobby...

Some kind of awareness tingled across the back of his neck. He looked up at the dark windows and wondered... where was Elizabeth?


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Three**

From there it was a flurry of activity both inside and outside of the Metro Court. As the police struggled to prepare for a confrontation that they were blind to what was brewing inside.

And within the walls of the Metro Court the various medical personnel were doing their best to help Robin even with Fun One's mercurial moods. It wasn't until Alan Quartermaine stood up to the gunmen and earned himself a knot on the back of his head for it that Elizabeth had kept her spirits up. As they led Alan off down the hall, several of the gunmen opened bags and started to place explosives around the room.

Her fear cemented in her mind as things continued and every moment she spend in that lobby, she had one thought repeating over and over in her head. "Just wait, he'll be here... just wait..."

A sudden yank on her arm brought her back to the situation at hand and she found herself dragged to her feet. "Well, well, the nurse Elizabeth... all by yourself." He nods to the man beside her and Elizabeth is taken down the hall and far away from her friends.

*** ***

**Outside the Metro Court**

Cruz pulls Lucky aside and gets up into his face. "Lucky... you have to calm down!"

"Calm down? My wife is in there!"

"Lots of wives are in there, Lucky and you're not a husband standing here, you're a policeman. If you can't keep that straight, Mac will send you back to the station."

"No, no," Lucky struggled to calm his nerves but it wasn't working, "I have to get in there and save her... I have to, Cruz... I've messed up so many times... I can't... I can't..."

Cruz set a consoling hand on Lucky's shoulder but the younger man shrugged it off. "I'm supposed to be in there you know... I'm supposed to be there with Liz, Nikolas and Emily!"

"Maybe," Cruz was losing hope in calming his partner, "maybe you'll do them more good out here... you never know."

Lucky moved away, muttering to himself under his breath. Cruz watched DA Lansing take note of the young officer and Cruz swore under his breath. Lansing already had it out for Lucky... this wasn't going to help. Not at all.

*** ***

**Locked in the Metro Court Hospitality Suite**

"Dr. Quartermaine?" Elizabeth pressed the wet cloth to his face and ignored the twinge of pain in her side. Her shoes were heeled and the absolutely wrong choice to wear when she was pregnant, but like a bird she'd spotted the shoes and the 'Pretty' part of her brain had taken over. She shook her head. Thinking about things like this.. she was losing it. "Dr. Quartermaine?"

"Alan," he took in a breath, "Call... me... Alan."

She saw his eyes open and she smiled. "Good, I just wanted to make sure you were still conscious."

He nodded. His chin tipping slightly down as he looked at her.

Smiling she leaned closer and pressed the cloth to his cheek. "I'm sure Emily would want to be the one in here with you, but I'm glad she's out there if that man will let someone help Robin, he'll choose Emily."

"This is all so wrong."

She took his hand and gave it a squeeze. "It'll be alright, I know it will."

He gave her a weak smile as he held tightly onto her hand. "That call you were trying to make-"

"I can't believe I did that! I don't know what I was thinking."

Alan flashed her some teeth. "You called Jason."

A myriad of emotions played across Elizabeth's face. "Yes... I tried. I knew..." she took in a breath, "if I got through to him..."

"He'd stop those men."

She smiled and shook her head. "I know that sounds silly, but-" The door opened and Elizabeth's heart was in her throat. She stood and put herself between Alan and the door. When she saw Emily she felt a little rush of relief. Leaving Emily behind to care for her father she went back to the lobby.

*** ***

**Inside the Metro Court Lobby**

Fun One picks up the phone and purrs into it. "Yes?"

"This is DA Ric Lansing and I'm here to help you."

"Help me?"

"Yes, I'm here to make sure this ends well..."

"Then you'd best be ready to give in to my demands."

"What are they?" Ric held the phone tighter in his hand.

"I'll let you know," the leader teased, "after I make my list. Be ready." Hanging up, Fun One turns and sees that Elizabeth is now back in the lobby. "I hope that you took good care of the good doctor."

Her gaze is strong on his face, her eyes challenging him where her mouth wouldn't dare. "I did what I could."

"That's all that we can ask of you, Dear Elizabeth..."

*** ***

Perhaps it's the way he says the words, it couldn't be the look in his eyes... no, the small holes in the mask couldn't show her anything of his expression. Still, Elizabeth wondered why a sudden chill slipped down her arms and tingled her fingertips.

*** ***

**At The Corinthos-Morgan Office**

Jason pulls Spinelli along behind him as he searches the office for any kind of equipment that might prove helpful.

"Stonecold," Spinelli minces steps in the doorway, "are you quite sure of what you saw?"

"Spinelli!"

Jason's anger is obvious. "I know you're sure, but i was just wondering seeing as you've been a bit distracted lately and now knowing that your most loving girlfriend is trapped inside the hotel with a bunch of evil-doers must be extremely upsetting and-"

"Dammit, Spinelli, pack!"

Jason turned back to the desk, opening a side drawer and reaching in for a mag-lite. Touching the metal he felt a shiver slide through his hands and he looked up suddenly. He didn't know what he expected to see, but something deep down inside of him said he should hurry.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part Four**

**Outside the Metro Court**

Ric had just finished explaining the situation to Patrick before he dialed the number for the hotel lobby. Craig picked up soon after but the young surgeon did what all young men do in situations of distress... he panicked. Ric reached out to snatch the phone from Patrick, but he was too late. The surgeon stared down at the phone in his hands. "He hung up."

Mac's expression was dark, but Ric didn't waste time on either of them. "I'll be right back... I have to see what my options are... NO ONE answers the phone or makes a call into the lobby until I get back."

*** ***

**Inside the Metro Court**

Craig, free of the presence of anyone else, took a moment to smile. He'd just left Sonny Corinthos tied up and while he'd wanted to take an extra punch or two he knew he had other things to do. He'd let Sonny make a phone call to 'arrange' for his escape using Corinthos assets... he wouldn't need it.. but at least now he knew that Sonny's men were running around trying to get things ready... thinking their boss was going to get out of this okay. He also knew that it was going to keep Jason Morgan busy. He didn't want to worry about Morgan breathing down his neck. Not at all.

He did have one more piece to put in motion.

*** ***

**Outside of The Metro Court**

Ric resumed his post outside the Hotel. His meeting with Jason had gone well. The man may have no emotions to speak of, but his ridiculous little friend was anxious and sweating profusely. They not only knew about the Metro Court... he'd interrupted their plans. Now, as he listened to the SWAT Captain going on and on about someone sneaking into the Hotel he know exactly who it was braving the police and a band of armed gunmen. Jason Morgan was going in with his computer geek and Ric knew that later, when all hell broke loose he could heap blame on them.

*** ***

**The other side of the block Outside the Metro Court**

Luke grabbed his son by the shoulders. "Come on, Cowboy... are you gonna saddle up and go in there with me? Or are you going to stay out here and twiddle your thumbs with them?"

Lucky looked over at Mac and the other police. "H-How do we get in? Where?"

Luke grabbed his son by the shirt and pulled him along after him. "I know a guy."

*** ***

**Inside the Metro Court Lobby**

Elizabeth shifted on her knees, the added weight of her baby was making it hard to keep feeling in her lower legs, swollen as they were. Before she realized what was happening, a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. As she struggled to get her feet firmly beneath her body a tight twist inside her abdomen pushed a gasp of air out from between her lips. "Ow."

She was deposited on a bench beside Lulu, but even the younger girl's whiny voice couldn't reach her. Hands smoothing over her belly, Elizabeth was desperate to ease the pain... terrified, she fought against the rising panic. "No... no..."

She heard voices arguing and realized that she herself was actually speaking, asking, begging for water. "Please," she asked him, her hand reaching out, "may I have some water."

His smile was slick and she hated him all the more for it.

She would get out of this, she determined. And when she did she'd learn to shoot a damn gun and put a bullet between the gunman's eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

**Part Five**

**Inside the Metro Court**

The panic she'd felt earlier was mounting with every minute. The longer Emily was out of the room, her dread grew. She wanted Emily, not just as a friend, but a doctor. With Emily there... there was a chance. Without her-

Pain twisted her middle again and yet she kept breathing and waiting... watching the second ticking away on the clock.

"Be careful, Emily... take care of yourself... and come back soon." Elizabeth rubbed her hand over her belly. "Quiet down, baby... we still have a long way to go."

A commotion turned her around and there, in the hallway, were Emily, Nikolas and Alan Quartermaine. Elizabeth let go of a huge sigh of relief and watched as they settled Alan on the floor. The lead gunman had led Sam off somewhere, but Elizabeth couldn't care less.

Her friends were back...

**In the helicopter**

Lucky rechecked the ropes he'd tied around himself and saw his father's big grin.

"Just like that time we rappelled from that rock formation in Monument Valley, right, Cowboy? Boy howdy them Navajo cops were pissed, huh?"

Lucky swallowed hard as the helicopter banked. The pilot turned and shouted at them above the engine.

"I'm going to get you as close as I can...but the Police are going to order me away as soon as I hover... so hurry up!"

Luke gave the pilot a thumbs up and rubbed his hands together. "Let's get down there!"

**In the Metro Court Lobby**

Sam walked ahead of Number One, her anger rolling off her in waves as she approached the lobby. He'd been right... in so many stupid ass angry ways. He'd looked her right in the eye and thrown all of the nasty truths in her face. All the other women in the lobby... they were concerned for others... mothers... doctors.. nurses... and damn Elizabeth for being two out of the three... every where she turned.. Elizabeth the nurse... Elizabeth the mother... Elizabeth the frickin' paragon of virtue... who had slept with Jason... who had ruined their happiness... damn her... damn Number One for being absolutely right... she had no maternal instinct, but when she looked at Elizabeth... well... BabiesBreath had it in spades.

When One shoved her to the side she merely turned an angry pout at him and stepped away.

**Continuing in the Lobby**

Elizabeth felt the crash of glass against a wall before she heard it. It fairly reverberated through her as she turned.  
One grabbed her arm and pulled her along with him.

"Someone!" He howled, "Has made a very bad mistake!" He pushed Elizabeth up against the counter and grabbed for the phone.

When she tried to move away he drew his gun and pushed the barrel into her side and smiled when he heard her gasp of pain. It calmed him.

Fear was good.

He waited for the phone to pick up and berated the idiot DA and then he turned the tide. "You'll get that helicopter to leave or Nurse Elizabeth will pay the price." He held the phone up to her face. "Say Hello, Mr. Lansing."

"H-hello, Mr. Lansing..."

**Outside the Metro Court**

Ric felt his heart stop deadly silent in his chest. "Elizabeth? Dear God, are you okay? Elizabeth, I-"

"It seems," the harsh voice on the phone crystallized Ric's anger, "that Queen Elizabeth may just have her baby tonight-"

"It's too early, please... she can't have her baby tonight and-"

"So, I see you know her," a whimper of sound, soft, feminine and in pain, "she's having pains-"

Ric moved away from Mac and the others, covering the phone with his hand. "Don't you dare hurt her. Look... tell me what you want... I'll get it for you."

"We've tried this before, Mr. Lansing... and your young surgeon didn't understand the virtue of pithy communication. Do you?"

"Look," Ric's voice was cold and harsh coming out of his throat, "I'm going to make this very simple. I want Elizabeth out of there... safe and sound with her baby. And here's what i'm about to offer you..."

"I'm listening..."

Ric ground out his words. "I'm offering you immunity in exchange for Elizabeth."

"Really?" He almost sounded like he was laughing. "How is that-"

"I'm the District Attorney, I can make it happen..."

"Hmmm... perhaps... let me think about it."

The phone went dead.


	6. Chapter 6

**Part Six**

**Outside the Metro Court**

The Mayor swung Ric around and poked a finger in his chest. "No more whispering over here, Lansing... what is going on?"

Ric schooled his features into something akin to calm. "He's considering a trade... for a pregnant hostage."

The Mayor thought it through and then nodded. "Hmm, that's something." He walked away.

Ric watched the Mayor go... the pompous windbag was a pain in any situation. "You don't know the half of it."

**Security Room Metro Court**

Lucky paced around the room behind Luke. "Why are we waiting? We need to go down there and rescue them!"

"Now you just hold on, cowboy." Luke looked at one monitor than the next. "You forget, this ain't my first time at the rodeo, son."

"And you!" Lucky turned on his father. "You need to stop talking like you're in an old episode of the Rifleman." Lucky looked at the screen, his sister on a bench and Elizabeth... Elizabeth was doubled over where she knelt on the floor. "I'm tired of waiting around for you to come up with a plan. I'm going down there... now!"

Luke didn't even really try to stop him. He just turned back to the monitors, muttering about his 'dang fool' son.

**Metro Court Lobby**

Jason had never been on edge like he was at that very moment. It didn't help that the ski mask he'd pulled off of one of the gunmen was itchy and smelled of cheap cologne. He looked around the lobby and tried to keep a cool head about his situation. Still, Emily was there. Alan, too. But his main focus was on the petite brunette with her hands protectively rubbing her rounded belly. Elizabeth should never have been in the middle of this... she should never be in this kind of danger. If this crew was here because of Sonny or because of himself, he would never forgive himself.

* * *

Elizabeth tried not to think dark thoughts, but every time the leader looked at her he seemed to smirk. She felt a subtle urgency deep in her heart when she looked at Jason's father and saw how he was suffering... and getting weaker. She had to do something. "Dr. Quartermaine?"

He wheezed and reached out a hand to her. "Alan."

She blinked back her tears. "Alan... I know you're hurting-"

He tried to wave her off. "You just take care of yourself."

Elizabeth scooted closer, her eyes flitting about the room to the different gunmen, making sure she wasn't seen. "I need you to listen, Alan... listen carefully."

He seemed to hear the urgency in her voice and turned slightly to see her face. "What... what is it?"

Placing a reassuring hand on her stomach she leaned as close to Alan's ear as she dared. "There's something you need to know about my baby." She bit into her lip and continued on, knowing it was the right thing. "My baby's father is Jason."

Alan seemed to stop breathing for a moment and Elizabeth shuddered in fear.

"Alan?"

His breath whooshed out from his lips with a sigh and he reached out a hand to her. They linked their fingers and he pulled her closer.

"Truly?"

"I'm telling him the next time I see him, but you, Alan... you need to fight... and live. I want you to know this child."

He relaxed a little against the pillow and smiled, taking in one breath after another with greater strength. "A baby."

Elizabeth saw one of the gunmen turn their way and she moved away from Alan, her heart pounding in her chest. She hoped it would be enough to keep Alan going until they could get him to General Hospital.

* * *

The leader smiled at Emily, his eyes cold and full of laughter. "I think you'd like to claw my eyes out right now."

Emily didn't nod, but her eyes flashed with anger. "I'd use my scalpel," she answered and saw his surprise, "but you've got the upper hand right now and I'm going to ask you one more time to please release my father and Elizabeth. They both need medical help. It's not going to help your bargaining power if something happens to either of them."

Fun One thought about it for a moment. "Then again, i'm threatening every single person in this lobby with a violent death... what should two lives matter?

"  
"Three." Nikolas stood up and pushed away the barrel of a gun from one of the other masked men. "Elizabeth is pregnant. Let them go."

"I'm sorry," his voice dripped with sarcasm, "being a prince won't get you anything here." He nodded to his man and the butt of a gun descended on Nikolas's shoulder and he was driven to his knees. "Now," he turned to Emily, "you're going to get half your wish. I'm going to let someone go."

Emily looked back at Elizabeth and Alan before she turned back to the leader. "Who?"


	7. Chapter 7

Part Seven

Emily felt bolstered by elation and the clutching paralyzing fear as she asked him. "Who?"

The leader's smile became brighter and the sight of it was nauseating. "I'm going to allow the good doctor to leave. Consider it an act of good faith."

Again, Emily turned to her friend and her father, her face awash with conflicting emotions. Elizabeth smiled, but pain pinched her lips together and Emily cried out for her friend. "Let them both go, please." The silence behind her was deafening.

She turned to see the cold iron of the leader's gaze pin her to the spot. "Don't test me. You won't like my reaction"

The desk phone rang again, startling everyone in the lobby. The leader waved at his men. "Four... Five, show the good doctor outside." He crossed to the desk, far away from the others and picked up the phone. "Yes?"

"Have you decided to give Elizabeth to me?"

The leader leaned against the wall and smiled, he had this pinhead exactly where he wanted him.

"So... all of these... machinations," his voice dripped with curiosity, "are all for one little nurse?"

"Don't push me."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Mr. Lansing." He couldn't help the delighted smile on his lips. "It would be one thing to posture if you had the upper hand, but right now, I can see little miss Elizabeth doubling over in pain-"

"Damn it, get her out of there!" Ric pressed his hand to the side of his face and felt the  
sweat tipping the ends of his hair even in the chill of the evening air.

"Now, Mr. Lansing," He purred his warning into the phone, "I didn't hear the magic word."

Ric bristled. He wasn't used to being treated in such a manner. Even when it was Sonny in front of him. "The magic word, Mr. Craig?" He felt his own measure of power flooding through his body. "Is immunity. If you want it... give me what I want."

* * *

It took everything Alan Quartermaine had to put one foot in front of the other there was hardly any strength left in his legs and if his heart didn't stop pumping its violent rhythm in his chest it was going to pop out and walk itself out into the cold.

He was barely aware of the odd strength the masked man beside him was giving him and the gentle way he was being helped across the floor.

The roar of blood in his ears almost masked the harsh whisper from the gunman. "Alan... Alan!"

The doctor blinked and turned his head slightly. It was a supreme effort on his part. "What?"

"It's me... Jason."

Relief, like a wave of cool water, washed over him as the truth of those words registered. He looked into the vibrant blue eyes of his son and smiled. "Thank God, Jason." He felt the cool air of night on his face and the sudden chill shocked another thought into his head. "Oh, Jason, wait-"

"I can't go any further, I have to... someone will come and get you... and get you help."

Alan felt the shift in Jason's body, he was about to let him go. "No, wait," he grabbed onto Jason's clothing, trying to hold him still for just a moment, "I have something to tell you."

"Hurry," Jason looked over his shoulder at the others inside and then at the police. Any longer and someone would try to put a bullet in him."

Alan wanted to tell him the truth, but really it wasn't his secret to tell... Elizabeth would see to it... Elizabeth! "You need to get Elizabeth out of there, Jason."

"I will," Jason whispered, "but you have to get to the hospital."

"Yes, yes," Alan agreed, "but you have to save her... promise me."

Jason felt the odd spark of emotion deep down inside of him. "I promise, Dad... now please... go and get help."

It nearly killed Jason to walk away but he had to get to Elizabeth.

* * *

The leader smiled to himself as he concluded his business with the D.A. "That's fine... just be there like we agreed and you'll get what you want." He paused, his mind working faster and faster keeping track of all of his plans. "But I warn you... you screw with me... and it'll be the little woman that pays for it."

* * *

Ric's palms were clammy and cold as he struggled to keep his heart from bursting with excitement. "Same here. You screw with me... and- Hello? Hello?" Ric slammed his phone shut. "Damn him!"

He caught the curious looks from Cruz and another PCPD detective but he didn't care. He pushed through the crowd and marched up the Mayor. Cruz watched in growing horror as Ric Lansing started ordering the Mayor around, telling him what kind of reinforcements they needed and how to get rid of the media. The mayor nearly burst a vein in his head.

A couple of well placed verbal and finger jabs sent the Mayor's temper and blood pressure into overdrive. The last they heard was, "I don't want to see you within ten miles of me, Lansing!"

Cruz thought it might be a trick of the revolving police lights that made it look like DA Lansing was smiling as he walked away.

* * *

Jason stepped back inside, hoping to catch some kind of reflection of the street in a glass pane or metal surface somewhere, but there was nothing to see besides the group of frightened people. Elizabeth was now on the other side of the room.

* * *

Sam was itching to do something. She hated being bossed around at someone else's mercy... she was the one who wanted to be in charge. She wanted to come out on top. She searched the room for something... anything to take hold of.

_Oh my God! Jason!_

Those amazing blue eyes could only belong to one person. She wondered for just a moment why he was in with the crew, but she knew he had to be there for something going on. Either way she was going to do something.

Jason caught her eye and she fought off a smile. She made a significant look in the leader's direction but when she turned back to Jason he wasn't happy. The dark look in his eyes pricked her temper. She nodded.

He shook his head.

She set her teeth together. If he was in this with Sonny, they hadn't told her about it. And if they were keeping secrets.. she wasn't going to stand for it. She was going to do something to make an impression on him whether he liked it or not.

The leader started across the room toward Elizabeth and Sam knew he'd have Jason's attention for sure. Striding forward she reached up and swept the man's mask off.

That did it. The room exploded into action. A quick backhand from the leader sent Sam to the floor in an undignified heap then he wrenched Elizabeth up onto her feet. When Sam managed to sit up enough to see, Jason's eyes were glued onto Elizabeth and when the leader shoved her into 7's arms she watched Jason's shoulders tense beneath his black shirt.

Elizabeth was dragged down the hall by another one of the masked men, Jason tried to follow only to be shoved back by the leader and ordered to see to their hostages.

She knew enough about Jason and his ridiculous attention to Elizabeth to know that under that nearly shapeless mask was a man... dying to do SOMETHING.


	8. Chapter 8

_****thanks for the feedback... enjoying the comments... I'm writing this on the fly... and sometimes a section is the length it is... because that's where the pause/breath in the story appears... i hope you'll bear with me*****_

_Elizabeth stumbled a little, her hand reaching out for the wall to steady herself, but the hand on her arm jerked her along. "Wait, wait," she breathed, "let me get my balan-"_

___"You're getting out of here, hurry up."_

___She somehow managed to keep her feet under her as the masked man dragged her along the hallway. She tried to look back, to see if anyone else was following them. "But why me? There are other people in there who-"_

___"Just you," the harsh words startled her and she stumbled along behind him, "that's all."_

___There were a pair of doors just ahead with a blinking sign above it._

___EXIT._

___"But, Emily and-"_

___He shoved the door open and she stumbled out into the cold night air. She had no idea where they were. None of the buildings looked familiar. She turned back to the masked man. "I don't understand-"_

* * *

Mac rubbed his hand over his face wondering if it was just the cold or his fear that robbed his skin of warmth. Maxie was in the Metro Court... working on the first floor, God knows what was happening to her at that very moment.

As the different units radioed in with their sit reps he tried to keep cool and calm, but somewhere in his mind he worried that Frisco would have done a better job. Frisco, who had training for this sort of thing. He would have been better... he would get Maxie out safely.

* * *

Luke watched on the monitors as Lucky barreled down the stairs toward the lobby. He saw the wild look in his son's eyes... the sheen of sweat on his skin... being honest with himself... he acknowledged he'd seen the shake of Lucky's hands.

The boy was in no condition to do something like this. Lucky's concern for Elizabeth was going to get her killed... but most importantly... Lulu was down there and Luke couldn't let anything happen to her.

He picked up his phone and dialed.

* * *

Mac looked at the caller ID on his phone and sighed. "Scorpio," he barked, "Luke... Luke... I don't have time to- what? - who?" Mac looked toward the Metro Court and spat his next words into the phone. "I should have known you would try something stupid and- Lucky?" Mac looked at Cruz and the two shook their heads. "Dammit...he's headed where?"

Over the police car barrier, Mac saw the solitary form leaving the hotel's front doors. He motioned and SWAT swarmed forward to check it out.

"He's going to do what? Damn fool." He growled. "I'll take care of it, Luke... STAY PUT."

Hanging up, he looked over at Cruz. "We're going in... Lucky's going to try something... and we have to get there before all hell breaks loose."

SWAT members got their orders as Mac and Cruz ran up to join them, guns at the ready.

* * *

Alan tried to stop them from going in. He tried to grasp Mac's arm as the Commissioner moved past, but an EMT technician took him in hand and got him to a stretcher. Alan continued to try to tell them... let them know that Jason was inside... in disguise. "Please," he begged, "tell them."

* * *

Jason felt an unsettling tremor deep in his middle. He was a man used to clear thinking under pressure, but every second... every moment that Elizabeth was gone from the room his whole body was filling with a deep, abiding panic.

Sam, her normal voice raised to a near unbearable whine, argued with the leader, allowing Jason time to try to figure out a way to follow after Elizabeth without a bullet in his back.

Emily, her heart filled with fear, clung to Nikolas' hand.

An echo of sound pounded in Jason's ears from the direction of the staircase.

* * *

Sam, was getting nowhere with anything. The leader had threatened her and Jason had done nothing. She'd tried to flirt with the man and all he'd done was sneer. She was running out of tricks and she had never really been known for her patience. It appeared that if they were all to get out of this it was going to be up to her.

* * *

Cruz watched the SWAT team assemble before the doors of the Metro Court, carefully avoiding any holes in the spray painted shield. He quietly offered a prayer for the safety of all within. He had no hope that they'd all get out alive, he just hoped that they would save as many as they could.

* * *

It all seemed to happen at once...

Sam lunged for the leader, her hand reaching for his side arm.

The stairway door burst open and drew the attention of nearly everyone in the room. Lucky, his face shining with perspiration swept his gun over the group assembled in the lobby, whether he was looking for friend or foe, there was no way to tell.

The lobby doors blew open a moment before several flashes seemed to blind the majority of the people in the room.

Gunfire spattered around the room and people began to scream.


	9. Chapter 9

****_we're back to the start... that odd little section at the beginning of the story and you get to see how it all starts to fall together... sorry about the length.. I'm writing this in a very 'organic' way... i write until i get to a 'stop' and then... I stop... more soon!_*****

PART NINE

_The flash of headlights blinded her and she threw up a hand to block the light and stepped back as the brakes of a car squealed to a halt and when she looked up the flash of a Mercedes logo glowed in the half light of the exit._

_"Elizabeth? Get in the car."_

_She was startled to say the least and turned toward the sound. Two flashes of light followed slightly by the unmistakable double roar of gunfire._

_Elizabeth heard a thud and turned. The masked gunman who had brought her outside was sliding down the exit door, leaving a slug-like trail of blood on the metal behind him. "What? Who? Ow!"_

_A hand grabbed at her arm and pulled her toward the car, shoving her into the backseat. A moment later the car was in motion._

* * *

Lucky barely came to a stop, the momentum from his sprint down the stairs was nearly too much for him to overcome. The scene before him was chaos and he could barely keep the voices from jumbling in his head.

He was pretty sure he saw Emily, Nikolas maybe... Sam's dark hair, Sonny and Carly...

"Elizabeth!" He screamed her name as he staggered into the fray.

* * *

Cruz followed an armored SWAT member into the lobby, his eyes roaming over the crowd, picking out citizens among the stumbling people inside. He hear Lucky screaming out Elizabeth's name and a cold fear lanced through him.

This wasn't going to end well.

* * *

Sam was fueled by pure hate and a burning anger. She was tired of being less... tired of being second... tired of being the one he settled for...

She felt cool metal in one palm and the hot spurt of blood caused by her nails as she grabbed for his neck. "Jason, help!"

"You, bitch!" She felt the man pull her tight and saw, around his shoulder, Jason turn away from the lobby and head down the hallway where Elizabeth had gone.

She loosened her hold on the gun for a fraction of a second and that was all it took. The muffled crack of gunpowder echoed in her ears as she felt the sudden spasm of muscles in her middle.

"I wish I could stay and dance," he whispered in her ear, "but I've got places to go, Sweet Sam, and you've outlived your usefulness in more ways than one."

He didn't even lower the her down to the ground, merely let go, and left her on her own as he ran for a side exit.

* * *

Max had things well in hand... in both hands... as he propelled Carly and Sonny toward the doors and barely noticed the hot bite of pain that sizzled through his side.

* * *

Lulu screamed as someone bumped into her and knocked her down to her knees. She managed to stay out of the way of trampling feet, but she had no idea where to run... where to turn. She managed to see through the smoke and chaos and there was Lucky, lit by one of those harsh emergency lights. She could see the sweat pouring from his face. "Lucky, help! Please!"

Motion to his side caught her attention and she watched as Jason Morgan sprinted past her brother and down the hallway.

"Lucky!" She shrieked at the top of her lungs. "Dammit, Lucky! Help me!"

Lucky, ignoring her cries altogether, followed Jason down the hall.

* * *

Mac pushed his way through the crowd his voice booming above the rest as he called for Maxie. He saw Emily and Nikolas huddled together as they ran for the door and as he turned around to look at the room, he caught sight of Robin, near motionless on the couch. He ducked to avoid small arms fire as she made his way to her side.

* * *

Craig pushed open the outside door and took in a deep breath of clean cool air. He was so close to being free... so close. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a remote and flipped the switch. He listened as the device warmed up.

* * *

Lucky caught up to Jason as the enforcer threw open door after door looking for Elizabeth. "You're a part of this aren't you!" He pushed Jason against the wall. "You and Sonny... what are you getting out of this?"

Jason pushed him back and crossed the hall to kick down another door. "Elizabeth?"

Lucky grabbed the back of Jason's shirt and pulled. "Answer me, dammit."

"Elizabeth?" The hallway was silent. "He must have taken her outside." He turned to leave but stopped for a second as the high-pitched *beep beep* reached his ears. "Sh*t!"

A quick look to the side gave him an idea.

* * *

Craig grinned and looked up at the hotel's exterior dotted with lights in occupied rooms. "By the time they sort things out... I'll be long gone."

Pressing the button on his remote he ran into the shadows as a chain of explosions began to rip through the Metro Court.


	10. Chapter 10

PART 10

Ric felt the shudder roll through the car and looked back in the rearview mirror to see the high profile tower of the Metro Court light up like a Christmas tree with blooms of fire and smoke.

He looked over at Elizabeth, her eyes bright with pain. She rolled back and forth on the seat her arm cradling her belly. "Elizabeth? Elizabeth, answer me!"

She stared at him hardly blinking. "Where are... where are we going?"  
Reaching back, Ric gave her arm a squeeze. "I'm taking you somewhere you can get help."

Elizabeth turned toward the windows and peered out into the night. "We're heading away from General Hospital." She moaned, clutching at her stomach. "Why?"

"The others," he caught onto a new part of the lie, "there'll be a big rush at GH," he explained, "a pile up on the freeway and for those injured at Metro Court, they're diverting to other facilities."

Elizabeth twisted to look at him. "They wouldn't... they know-"

Her cry of pain ripped through his heart.

"I'm getting you help, Elizabeth... I'm going to save you both."

Her sobs echoed in the confines of the car.

- The Lobby -

The series of explosions sent shock waves through the building, knocking many to the ground. Lulu was sent sprawling, but Nikolas saw his sister's bright blond hair and pulled her after him.

- Max -

Max reached out for help and called to Carly, but she turned her back and into Sonny's arms as they found their way out of the lobby.

- Sam -

Sam felt at least one person stumble over her legs and another tripped over her, delivering a hard blow into her side. The pain... the blow... all served to push more blood from her body. Her hands tried to staunch the flow but it didn't work.

For once, her brassy attitude didn't help her one bit. The explosions ripped a chuck of the ceiling out and as it fell she thought of Jason and Elizabeth... she met her end with her eyes open and her last words in the smoke laden air. "That bitch."

- The Elevator -

Jason sat down on the elevator floor and stared at Lucky. "What are you doing here?"

"I should ask you the same question!" Lucky pounded on the elevator door. He'd already tried every single button on the console. "You're always in the way."

There was a distinct silence from Jason's side of the elevator. He had his phone out and was staring at the screen.

"How did you even find out about this?"

"I was walking by." Jason resisted the urge to shake the phone. No reception was no reception. "Saw the painted windows."

"Hmph." Lucky kicked the door and then hissed in pain. "You weren't here stalking Elizabeth?"

That earned him a look and distinct pulse of muscle in Jason's jaw.

- Luke -

Luke struggled with the console that was pinning him to the ground. The whole security desk had collapsed on him when the explosions shook the hotel. He could feel the pain in his right leg and what worried him most was the leg he couldn't feel. He tried to see the monitors but the screens were all blinking in and out and slashes of darkness were the only thing he could see.

He could almost reach the phone, but he knew, even if he got a call out to the Emergency services they probably wouldn't be able to get to him in time. He could only hope that Lucky was down there... with Lulu... and he'd tell the police where to find him.

- The Elevator -

"You can come clean with me, Jason." Lucky paced back and forth in the cramped space. "I know you've always had a thing for Elizabeth."

Jason put his phone back into his jacket. His mind was focused on finding Elizabeth. She was out there, somewhere. She hadn't been in the lobby and without any knowledge of what damage had been done to the hotel there was no way to know how she was or where she was.

"But you're not going to get her away from me."

He would get Spinelli to check the security cameras.

"She's going to marry me again and we're going to be a family. Elizabeth, the baby, and me."

That got Jason's attention. He gave Lucky a look that stopped Lucky in his tracks. "And Cameron." Jason didn't even wait for the words to register. "What about Elizabeth's son, Cameron. Or were you hoping she'd forget about him as easily as you do?"

- General Hospital -

Emily wouldn't allow anyone to look at her injuries until she'd seen her father. Nikolas stayed with Lulu in the Emergency Room at Emily's insistence and she continued on and met Monica in the hallway.

"How is he?"

Monica, her own concern split between husband and child, tried to look at the gash in Emily's arm as she answered her question. "They have him in surgery. It was touch and go in the ambulance, but the EMT said your father kept talking about Jason."

Emily 's expression was full of shock.

"Did you see Jason there, Emily? Was he?"

"Jason?" Emily shook her head, but her motions slowed as her mind travelled over the events of the last few hours she remembered the man on Alan's right as they took him to the door. He was very different in his manner. Less forceful, less rigid. And then there was the moment he turned back to look over his shoulder at them with his blue eyes.

His very blue eyes.

"Oh my... Jason was there!" Her eyes went wild and she struggled against Monica's restraining grasp. "Jason's in the hotel. I have to go back and get them to look for him."

- The Car -

Elizabeth struggled to hear what Ric was saying over the music playing through the car's speakers. Her ear was right next to one of them and she could only hear pieces of his side of the conversation.

She did hear his last words. "You owe me."


	11. Chapter 11

PART 11

- The Elevator -

Lucky continued to pace back and forth in the elevator, checking his watch at maddening intervals. "When are they going to get us out of here!?"

Sitting a few feet away, Jason made a mental list of everything he would have to do when they were released. It was hard to avoid the anxiety rolling off of Lucky. He did wonder how Elizabeth managed to think when he was around.

"Can't you 'do' something?"

Jason looked up at him and saw the widening sweat stains on Lucky's shirt. He was going to get out of hand, quickly. "I can't call out and there's nothing to do until they find us or I can get a signal."

A moment went by... then another... and the vein in Lucky's temple bulged. "You know something, don't you?"

"Lucky, I-"

"You've got her locked up somewhere... or one of your body guards took her, right?" Lucky kicked the wall of the elevator and a distinct crunch was heard, but it didn't stop him. "This is your big chance to really get between us, but let me tell you something, Jason. When this is all over... she's going to be mine and you are going to be in jail!"

"For what?" Jason's control was already under a strain. Not knowing where Elizabeth was... it was weighing on him.

Lucky's brain tripped over the thought and a shudder went through his body. "I'll figure something out!"

"Trumping up charges to get me out of the way will only backfire on you and-"

"I'm going to make it stick this time, Jason. I'm going put you away." Lucky crouched down until he was looking Jason right in his eye. "Or better yet, what if I just killed you now?" He looked at the ski mask on the ground beside Jason. "You're dressed like them. I could say that I shot one of the gunmen... and surprise!" He grinned, a wild look in his eyes. "And no one will ever know!" Lucky reached down for his gun a moment before Jason's hand shot out and delivered a sharp blow to Lucky's jaw.

The lawman was out like a light and Jason laid him carefully down on the ground.

He turned his attention to the silence around them. He was hoping to hear the sounds of a rescue crew.

- Outside the MetroCourt -

Spinelli, having failed to get Mac's attention, turned to Cruz. The detective had been standing by when they put Robin in the ambulance and had eagerly agreed to take over control of the scene to let Mac ride with Robin to the hospital. Mac said he would return to join the search for Maxie once he knew Robin was taken care of, but Cruz waved him off. "I'll be here... don't worry."

"Excuse me..."

Cruz issued a few orders to men as construction equipment began to roll up the street. Luckily there was a new high-rise going up down the street and a couple of well placed calls had the crew pulled in for duty.

"Excuse me... detective?"

Another barrage of questions, this time from the press and Cruz sent them packing and issued orders to keep them away from the site.

"Excuse me!" Spinelli grabbed the detective by the back of his coat and swung him around. "I need to talk to you!"

"Look," Cruz shook his head, "I don't have a lot of time to-"

Spinelli grabbed his coat and pulled him closer, whispering to the detective in low tones.

A moment later, Cruz swept debris from the hood of his car and motioned for Spinelli to set his laptop down. "Show me."

- On the Interstate -

Ric looked back at Elizabeth and tried to meet her eyes. "Don't worry, Elizabeth. I'm taking you someplace safe, someplace where-"

"Please, Ric," her voice begged him with its tone, "just take me to the nearest hospital... Kelly... Dr. Lee," Elizabeth struggled through another painful contraction, "she said I might have preeclampsia... I need help!"

"And you're going to get it... I promise you!" He saw the sign post looming out of the dark. "See? This is our exit!" He flicked on his signal and took the exit to Newport. "I've got a good friend at the hospital, he'll make you feel better... I promise!"

- Inside one of the Corinthos SUVs -

Carly clung to Sonny, the sheer terror of the situation poured tears down her cheeks. Her voice was muffled in his shoulder. "Max?"

Sonny shushed her and grabbed at the phone Ben handed him. Turning it on he dialed. "Emergency procedures! Now!" He listened to the man on the other end and shook his head. "I grabbed Carly and got out of there. Send someone to check if we left anyone behind." He felt Carly stiffen against him, but brushed off the thought.

- Security Control Room Metro Court -

The building shuddered again and Luke, barely conscious, felt the tremor lull him toward sleep. "I hope you got what you wanted, cowboy." He sighed. "I hope you got your sister out too."

His laughter seemed to echo off the walls.

"I hope someone gets me out of here... soon... before..."

Another pump of his heart sent another spurt of blood out of a vein in his thigh. He couldn't see the damage, but his world had gone black.. and he'd never know anything else.

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI -

The Emergency Intake bay doors swung open as the car pulled in. Two orderlies rolled a stretcher out and had a tough time lifting the half-conscious woman out of the back seat of the luxury car. Ric hovered nearby and barely acknowledged the man that walked up to his side. He grabbed the sleeve of his doctor's coat. "You take care of her... you hear me?"

They walked behind the stretcher and into the confines of the clinic.

"We're really not equipped to deal with something like this, Mr.-"

"No names," Ric hissed at him, "and you had better make it work. This woman," Ric's breath caught in his throat, "means everything to me."

As they entered an exam room, Elizabeth roused enough to look around at the unfamiliar room and people. "Ric? Where are we?"

He gave the doctor a dark look and moved closer, taking her hand. "Just lay quietly... they'll take care of everything."

She shook her head, tearing her hand from his. "No... no... I have to go to General Hospital... my baby... Dr. Lee... please-"

One of the nurses, looked up from the chart. "Name?"

Elizabeth opened her mouth. "I'm Eli-"

The doctor covered her mouth and nose with an oxygen mask. "I'll give you that information later. For now let's get her contractions under control... let's see if we can stop them before they cause too much of a problem."

Elizabeth's eyes were wide and round as she looked at Ric. Fear... she felt utter... abject... fear.

- General Hospital Emergency Room -

Dr. Kelly Lee searched from room to room of the ER, looking for Elizabeth. When she stumbled into the bay and saw Lulu and Nikolas she stopped short. "Have either of you seen Elizabeth?"

Lulu burst into tears and Nikolas had to speak for them. "She was with us at the Metro Court. We don't know where she is now." He saw the change in the doctor's features. "What's wrong?"

Kelly clamped her mouth shut... she couldn't say anything. Wheeling out of the room she continued looking and nearly bumped into Monica.

"Kelly, my goodness, you look like you're in a rush."

"I need to find out if anyone has brought Elizabeth Webber in," she gasped, "she's not picking up her phone. I know she was at Metro Court during the hostage crisis."

Monica tried to soothe the doctor. "I'm sure she made it out just fine."

"Even if she did," Kelly bit at her bottom lip, considering the ramifications of revealing to much information, "we still need to find her. It's her pregnancy... there's something wrong."


	12. Chapter 12

**Part 12**

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI -

Ric knew he could trust the owner of the clinic, he did, after all, have the man over a barrel.

He watched the orderlies move Elizabeth into one of the examination rooms before he turned to Dr. Scoville. "Here's what's going to happen. You're going to admit her as a Jane Doe. You save her. You save her baby. But no one... NO ONE knows her real name."

The doctor swallowed hard. "But what if she talks... says something... I can't-"

"Sedate her!" Ric hissed the order and looked about to make sure that no one could hear them. "I have arrangements to make."

The doctor watched him leave and then hurried after the gurney. He had to keep a close eye on the woman and administer a sedative the instant he thought she might reveal something he'd regret.

-Outside the Metro Court -

Cruz shook his head. "If this is right, I may take back everything I've ever said about you."

Spinelli looked up from his laptop at the Detective. "What have you said about me?"

Sighing, Cruz pointed at the screen. "These lights are all cell phones?"

Looking at the line map of the MetroCourt, a wire-frame image just like the ones from video games and cheesy sci-fi movies, Spinelli nodded. "Yep. My computer is patched into the nearby cell phone towers. All the phones on are listed right here." He pointed to one that pulsed red. "That one is my boss. That's Stone- errr... that's Jason."

Cruz looked carefully at the diagram. Is he in the elevator?"

Spinelli shrugged. "Looks like... you better get him out quick, though."

"Quick? Why?"

Spinelli pointed to the blue light beside the red. "That's Lucky Spencer... and the two of them together..."

Cruz picked up his walkie. "Okay, we've got two people trapped in the elevator..."

-General Hospital -

Mac pressed a kiss to Robin's forehead and headed back to his car. Maxie, for all he knew, was still trapped in the hotel. According to Cruz, that crazy kid that Jason Morgan kept around had found a way to locate people in the Hotel. The rescue crews were using his directions to find survivors.

He knew that Spinelli would be able to find Maxie... he had to.

- The Warehouse -

As soon as they arrived, Sonny set Carly down at one of the tables in the coffee shop and went to work. Guards and other men filed in and out of the office to get orders and bring information back to Sonny. The head of the family was getting more and more agitated. Jason wasn't answering his phone.

Muttering under his breath, Sonny shook his head. "He better have a damn good explaination... he better be dead..."

-Coffee Shop -

Carly picked up her phone and looked at the numerous messages that had come in while they'd been hostage. She'd somehow bumped the button for mute and realized that she hadn't heard the phone ring at all. She scrolled right past Jax's number and dialed Jason.

-Metro Court Vault -

Maxie curled up in a corner of the vault, trying very hard not to cry. She didn't want to make a noise. Not again.

When she'd been locked in the vault she'd screamed bloody murder for someone to let them out. She'd screamed and ignored the man's warnings, convinced that her voice was loud enough to get them help.

That was until he'd knocked her into the wall with a backhand to shut her up.

Then an hour later, when they realized that no one was coming back for them he wanted to make up. She'd shoved him away and even tried to give him a good ol' fashioned knee to the groin until he'd grabbed a handful of her hair and showed her exactly what he thought of mouthy self-important women.

He'd finally sat down and closed his eyes, his hand gripping his gun, and told her to get some rest of her own.

She wished that the ceiling would open up and crush him to death.

- General Hospital -

Monica exited Alan's room, having left him sleeping peacefully thanks to the morphine, and watched as Kelly Lee paced at the nurse's station with her phone to her ear. As Monica drew closer she heard the OB repeat over and over. "Pick up, Liz... Pick up!"

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI -

Dr. Scoville approached Ric and waited for the DA to notice him.

"What?" Ric's tone snapped cold and hard at the doctor.

"We've got her on several medications trying to stop the contractions, but her vitals are off the charts."

"She's been a little busy tonight," Ric's patience was thinner than usual, "I saved her from a bad situation... you've got to do the rest. You CAN do it, can't you, Scoville?"

The doctor drew in a shaky breath. "I'm doing all I can, but..."

"But what?"

"If we stop the contractions by some miracle... she'll need to be on complete bed-rest for the rest of her pregnancy.

Ric thought through the man's words. "I can do that... YOU can do that, Scoville.

"I don't know if I can hide her here for that long... people will start asking questions."

A steely calm settled on Ric and he looked at the doctor with open malice in his expression. "If people start asking questions about her that you can't answer... I'll just have to tell him about that little problem you had... you know, the one where you funneled your department's funds into a little off-shore account?"

A muscle ticked in the man's jaw. "Fine... you'll get what you want..." He turned and went back into Elizabeth's room.

Ric watched him go and looked at an incoming text message.

E. Keenan:

On a plane

Will call when I reach US

"Oh, I'm finally going to get what I want... everything that I want."


	13. Chapter 13

Part 13 - Never a Lucky Number...

- The Elevator -

There was a shudder of movement that rolled through the elevator car and Jason's cell phone beeped loudly. Pressing the answer button he held it up to his ear. "Spinelli? Good... are you-" A loud crunching sound drowned his own words and he barely heard Spinelli's reassurance that...

"We're getting you both out of there."

He didn't ask how Spinelli knew he was in the elevator with someone else... he didn't care. "Tell me about Elizabeth, Spinelli... where is she?"

There was a horrifying pause in the silence of the elevator. It even seemed as though the emergency crews were waiting for an answer. "We don't know, Stonecold." He hurried on. "But I've got a fix on her cell phone. She's near the rear of the building."

"Have you called her?" He didn't wait for an answer from Spinelli. Jason hung up on the boy and dialed Elizabeth's phone himself. He listened as it rang several times and went to voicemail.

Terror chilled every cell in his body. She was in the rear of the building but not answering.

He called Spinelli back. "Dammit, Spinelli... forget us... get to her first!"

Again. another sad pause. "I'm sorry, Stonecold, we can't." He gulped in air. "I've spoken with the structural engineer with the rescue crew... to get to her... we have to go through your area first."

Jason stared at the unconscious man on the floor and one more time cursed him for getting in the way. "Then hurry, Spinelli... something's wrong."

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI -

Dr. Scoville wiped at his forehead to keep the sweat out of his eyes. He pressed his hand to her belly an felt the tight twist of muscles as her body went through another contraction. "Please... please stop."

He owed Ric Lansing his freedom... but this... this wasn't just some embezzlement scheme... there was a woman's life at stake... and her baby.

Another shift of muscle under his hand and she cried out behind her mask. "Jason!"

Something deep inside him twisted. Whatever DA Lansing said, this woman... was calling out for someone else... this was very very wrong.

- General Hospital -

Monica grabbed Kelly's arm and pulled her into an empty room. "What is going on?"

Kelly was near tears... and for the bubbly OB that was saying something. "I can't tell you, Monica... I just can't."

"Well," Monica was used to wheedling things out of people, "you've already told me it's about Elizabeth and her baby... maybe I can help... if you let me know what's going on."

Kelly seemed to consider the reasoning for a moment and then shook her head. "I... I can't... there's no one but Elizabeth that can..." A sudden thought brightened her expression. "Maybe she... I just hope she told..." Kelly grabbed Monica and stuck her hand into the front pocket of her lab coat and fished out Monica's phone. "I need to borrow this... I'll get it back to you... thanks... bye." She pushed Monica out the door and locked it.

Monica, sure she was missing something important, leaned against the door, her ear pressed tightly to the crack. What she heard confused her more than anything else.

"Come on, Jason... pick up!"

- Metro Court Rescue Team Hub -

Mac ran up and listened as Cruz rattled off the current status of the rescue and the people inside the hotel. He looked at Spinelli, standing beside Cruz and barked at him. "Well? Have you found her?"

Spinelli swallowed and nodded. "I've set up a program to track cell phones and locations. The structural engineer has plotted out a path to get everyone out in each section of the hotel.. starting with the lobby."

Mac looked over the screen. "Where is she?"

Pointing to the big void in the center of the screen, where one yellow light blinked ever so slowly. "She's in the vault."

- Metro Court Vault -

Maxie tried to wiggle her way closer to the wall as the gunman woke from his light slumber. "Please," she whispered, "please..."

He gave her a wolfish smile. "Now that's just disappointing," he drawled. "I thought you were the Commissioner's niece... don't tell me you're going to be a baby and start blubbering again." He took out his gun and pointed it at her. "If you're going to be a child about it... why don't you crawl over here and be the good little girl and maybe I won't put a bullet between your eyes."

"I hate you..." she ground the words out as she slowly crept toward him.

"I don't care..." he taunted right back as he reached for his belt.

- Metro Court Rescue Crew -

One of the men in the bright yellow safety vests stood up on a pylon and waves his arms over his head. His excited words could only be heard when Mac and Cruz ran forward, followed by Spinelli.

Mac called up to him. "What is it?"

"We're bringing some people out!"

The first person to be pulled clear of the rubble was Lucky Spenser. His unconscious body was laid on a stretcher and carried out.

Mac called a halt to the stretcher's progress when it was near him. He gave him a once over. "What's wrong with him?"

"He was hysterical," the answer came from Jason Morgan who emerged from the site just a few seconds later under his own power. Turning to Spinelli and Cruz he pressed on. "Where is she?"

Spinelli turned his laptop around to show Jason the screen, but the ground beneath them shifted suddenly and rescue workers ran for the hastily erected fence. Jason refused to move, even when ordered to by Mac and yet it was the two of them that stood there in abject horror as the Metro Court, weakened by the explosions began to sink into the ground.

- The Metro Court Vault -

Maxie looked up at the ceiling and the widening crack visible above them. It was all too clear what was happening as the floor beneath them began to buckle.

A moment later she had her earlier wish... except... the ceiling caved in and killed them both.

- Metro Court -

Jason leaned forward, ready to launch himself straight into the building but Mac had a fistful of Jason's tshirt and nearly choked the enforcer as he tried to stop him from getting himself killed.

The pain across his throat didn't stop Jason Morgan from screaming, "Elizabeth!"

In his next heartbeat, Jason and Mac were thrown back, blown right off their feet by the shock wave of the collapsing building.


	14. Chapter 14

Part 14

It took less than hour for Jason Morgan's world to completely implode.

One moment he'd been stuck in an elevator with Lucky... the next he was back on the street in front of the Metro Court waiting for the rescue crew to do it's job.

He'd been knocked to the ground by a wall of air that accompanied the demolition of the Metro Court.

Who knew how many people had been inside when nearly every floor sandwiched down into its foundation?

Jason didn't know... and he didn't care.

He only cared about one thing.

"Elizabeth!"

Spinelli pushed through the crowd, his normal fevered pace of speech sent into overdrive as he tried to show Jason the screen on his lap top. He pointed to an outline of the hotel's design and the endless blackness of the image.

Somewhere in the hazy edges of Jason's consciousness, he heard Spinelli explain how they'd found him and how they were on their way to rescue Elizabeth.

"Where is she?" Jason's voice was barely audible above the emergency sirens echoing off the surrounding buildings.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you, Stonecold. " He gestured to the screen. "Her phone was here... in the hallway near the back rooms where some of the hostages had been held."

Jason grabbed Cruz's shirt. "Then, let's get in there!"

Cruz tried to remove Jason's fingers from the twisting fabric of his shirt. "We can't-"

"The hell you can't!" Jason only twisted his fingers tighter. "You get your crew.. or I'll get my own and we'll-"

"The building it's gone!" Spinelli's eyes were filled with tears. "Elizabeth... Maxie... all of their phones were crushed under the concrete of the building... their phones died, because they-"

Jason hit the person closest to him, sending Cruz flying back into the gathering crowd. He turned on Spinelli... demanding that he fix his computer and find them... but Spinelli could only sob and clutch his laptop to his chest. "They're gone, Stonecold... we've lost them for good."

The world stopped spinning on its axis and Jason Morgan, enforcer, nearly collapsed under the weight of his own loss.

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI -

Ric looked up from his tablet and gave the doctor a look of expectant disgust. "Well?"

Scoville consulted the chart in his hands. "We've stopped the contractions for now... but like I said before she'll need to be on complete bed rest or she might not only loose the baby... she might die."

The news seemed to stagger him for a moment. He slowly lowered the table onto the counter and then push his fingers through his hair as he thought through his options. "Bed rest... but that's all?"

Scoville shook his head in disbelief. "Bed rest... complete calm. are you sure you're hearing me?"

"I have my own physician coming in to help. We'll move her to another facility as soon as possible. I'm sure you'll be happy to see us go, won't you?"

Scoville swallowed both the words and the tone of his thoughts and tried to project some thought a little less than righteous indignation or wrath. Neither, he knew, would go over with the DA. "What matters is her care... the safety of her baby and her own health."

"Good... then we have an understanding. You keep your staff in the dark about her and I'll handle the rest." Ric turned away from the doctor, dismissing him.

- General Hospital ICU -

Monica turned on the TV in Alan's room to pass the time, flipping through the horrible cable access shows and stopping suddenly on the late breaking news from KLKZ. She watched as the on-the-scene reporter explained the sudden horrific implosion of the Metro Court and the reporter lifted a piece of paper that she could barely see with the spinning emergency lights and read off a list of suspected casualties of the disaster. Nearly a half a dozen names into her list Monica dropped the remote, sending it crashing to the ground when the reporter named: "Elizabeth Webber."

- General Hospital ER -

Monica threw open the curtain and wrapped her arms around Emily. "Have you heard?"

Startled, Emily looked at Nikolas and then at her mother, when Monica leaned back. "Heard what?"

A voice from the nurse's hub seemed to echo off the walls. "Dear God... no!"

Emily lurched to her feet, with Nikolas' hand at her arm for support. "That's Audrey, Mom, I-" Emily's knees gave out and Nikolas helped her to sit down on the gurney. "Why... what?" She looked at Monica and saw the horrible sadness in her eyes. "Not Elizabeth... no!"

Again, Emily tried to stand, but Nikolas took her tightly in his arms and let her cry into his shoulder.

- Outside the Metro Court -

Lucky Spenser came around in the midst of the flurry of activity. The reality of the situation dawned on him slowly, as he caught snippets of conversations about him and the strange immobile state of Jason Morgan, the truth of it all dawned on him.

Elizabeth.

Was dead.

A scream issued from his throat that had every head in the area turning toward him. A moment later he tackled Jason Morgan to the ground and set to pummeling him with his fists. Jason did nothing to stop him.

-General Hospital ICU -

The call light at the nurse's station brought a nurse immediately to Alan's room. The nurse, tears fresh in her eyes greeted him. "It's so good to see you awake, Dr. Quartermain... it's so good-" she hiccupped into her tissue. "It seems-"

"I need to see..." Alan's voice scratched through his throat, "I need to see my son, Jason."

"But, Dr. Quar-"

"I need to see... my son... now."

She nodded and ducked out of the room. "I'll call and give him the message."

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI -

Ric's phone rang and one of the passing orderlies gave him a look before pointing to the 'NO CELL PHONES' sign above the desk. Ric made a great show of pressing the answer button and setting it against his ear. "Yes."

"This is Dr. Ke-"

"It's about damn time, Ewen." Ric leaned against the counter and used his free hand to select a file on his tablet. "I don't want to hear your excuses. I do want to know when you'll be here in Newport."

There was a slight pause. "I'm at the airport. I have to go and rent a car-"

"Take a taxi, I have something for you to read." He clicked the button to send and shut the cover. "It's all the information you need..." Cupping his hand over the mouthpiece of the phone he ground out his last words. "Don't forget, Ewen... I have your ass over a barrel on this one... and if you screw up... it'll be the last thing you do."

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI - Private Room -

Elizabeth's consciousness rose just above the heavy sedative and she blinked, adjusting her eyes to the low light of the room. Machines...

She easily read the stats on each machine, her own training serving her well.

A breath and she felt the fetal monitor wrapped around her middle. She saw the blinking lights and read the information on the backlit screen. Her baby was alive. She was alive.

And so very far from home.

Elizabeth drew in a shaky breath and let it out. When it passed her lips it sounded like a name.

"Jason."


	15. Chapter 15

PART 15

- General Hospital ER -

They brought Jason in under his own power. He walked into the Emergency Room, but his feet barely lifted above the ground as he moved into the center of the room accompanied by Spinelli. "Excuse me, Excuse me, can someone help us, please?"

Emily lifted her head at the urgent push in Spinelli's voice. "Jason?" Rushing free of Nikolas' arms she made her way to Jason's side. "Oh my... what happened to you?" She lowered her voice and leaned closer. "Did someone figure out you were disguised as one of the men?"

He didn't answer her. Didn't lift his head. Didn't really move.

"Jason?" She looked at Spinelli and the hacker could only mouth one word in reply.

'Elizabeth.'

Emily wrapped her arms around Jason as her own tears began to flow again. "Oh, Jason.. I can't believe we lost her."

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI -

Ric watched from the window as a taxi pulled up. A tall man unfolded from the back seat and paid the driver before pulling up his collar to keep some of the rain from his face. When he came in through the double doors, Ric stepped up to him and showed him down a long corridor. "Took you long enough."

"You said to take a cab. It was tough finding one at this hour."

Shaking his head in frustration, Ric continued on. "Did you read the file."

A moment of silence turned Ric's head.

"I read your file, Mr. Lansing, but I don't see what-"

"Like I'd write everything in an electronic communication..." He pushed open a door to a restricted area. If Ewen Keenan thought anything was strange about that, he didn't say. "I expected you to read between the lines."

They came to a stop at a crossroads of sorts in the hallway. Ric looked at Ewen expectantly.

The doctor ventured a guess. "You want me to change something in her memories." He waited for a moment, looking for some sign that he was right. "After all, you did let me 'go' before I was prosecuted for something similar... that's why I 'owe' you... as you put it."

"You're right about that," Ric began, "YOU OWE ME... and you'll do what I want or somehow my little file on Dr. Ewen Keenan will fall into the 'right' hands this time." Indicating a room nearby, the two walked over and Ric opened the door.

Ewen preceded him inside and he had to blink his eyes to adjust to the low lighting. The blankets and rails on the bed did little to disguise the fact that the woman in the bed was pregnant. "Is she..." he looked at Ric, "is she pregnant with your child?"

A slow, deliberate smile crawled across Ric's lips. "No, but it's your job to make her think she is."

- General Hospital ER -

"Excuse me, Mr. Morgan, sir."

Emily was the only one of them that acknowledged the nurse. "I'm sorry, he's just lost someone and-"

"I'm sorry, I really am." She swallowed hard. "I know... ah, knew Elizabeth, but this is about Dr. Alan-"

Jason turned and looked at her. "Is he-"

"Alive," she rushed on with a slight smile, "he wanted me to call you and have you come the hospital. I tried calling but I-"

Looking at his sister she provided the right answer to the question he couldn't quite voice.

"He's in ICU, Jason. They're watching him after the surgery."

A moment later he was gone.

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI - Private Room -

"Elizabeth?" Ewen's voice was soft... coaxing. "Elizabeth?" He set the syringe down on the tray beside his chair.

She looked so very small in the bed, even with her swelling belly, her eyes so wary and full of fear. "Yes?"

"Who is the father of your child?"

Again, fear... distrust. "Why do you want to know?"

He shifted in the chair beside her bed, leaning forward on his arms as he looked at her. "It's very important... for you... and for me... if you start answering the question with 'Ric Lansing.'"

"Ric?" Elizabeth struggled to sit up, but Ewen held up his hands to ease her worry. "Why would I say that Ric is the father?"

Ewen smiled at her... a weak tepid expression. "Because that's the way he wants it and he's going to do everything to convince you that'll it'll be easier to give him what he wants."

"No... no, please," Elizabeth motioned him closer, "I need you to get word to my-"

The door opened and revealed a smiling Ric. "How is everything going?"

"You!" Elizabeth stared at Ric, finally putting it all together. Without the wracking pain of her early contractions she was able to string her thoughts together. "You brought me here..."

"I brought you here to save your life, Elizabeth." He moved closer. "To save your baby's life."

"You kidnapped us? How could you-"

"I made a deal with the gunman to save your life." He held out his hands in surrender as he moved closer. "And I did... given that I got you out before the Metro Court collapsed."

"It... collapsed!" Elizabeth startled and tears gathered on her lashes. "You're lying... you're lying! Tell me you're lying!" She looked at Ewen but his eyes held no answers. "Please," she grabbed her belly, "please tell me you're ly-ah..."

The fetal heart monitor sounded a warning and the room was suddenly invaded by several nurses and Doctor Scoville. "You'll both have to leave..."

Ric narrowed his eyes at the doctor who nodded in return.

"I know what to do." He covered Elizabeth's mouth with an oxygen mask and ordered a sedative.

Ric pulled Ewen out into the hallway. "You better be quick about this, Ewen. We don't have much time."

- General Hospital ICU -

Jason paused in the doorway, watching Monica check on Alan's vitals. When she turned and saw him there she stopped short. She didn't make a comment about the fresh bruises and marks on his face. She didn't scold or rush at him to see if she could help.

What she did hit home far more than anything else she could have done. "I'm sorry," she began, "Elizabeth... Elizabeth was special to all of us, but I know you had a... connection to her, and I'm sorry."

Jason nodded as he sucked in a ragged breath.

Alan stirred in the bed and opened his eyes. "Jason. Thank God you're in one piece."

Monica, touched Alan on the arm. "I'll leave you two alone for a bit... don't overdo."

Smiling at her, Alan nodded. "Yes, Doctor."

As she walked past Jason she stopped for a moment, looking him straight in the eye. "Thank you for helping Alan get out of that lobby... I know you were there to help... thank you." Then she was gone.

Jason approached the bed slowly and sat down on a nearby stool. "I'm glad you're going to be alright."

Alan smiled. "Thanks to you... Thanks to Emily..." he watched Jason's face, "and to Elizabeth."

That got Jason's attention.

"She took care of me early on... when I'd been separated from the group. She was not only a good nurse tonight, son, she was the same wonderful person she's always been."

"She had a lot of practice with me."

If Alan was surprised by the words, he didn't say so. Instead, he let Jason talk.

"After we all thought Lucky had been killed in the fire, she found me one day... in the snow... shot." Jason's eyes squeezed shut as though he were trying to remember something. "She half dragged, half carried me to her studio after I was patched up and she kept me there... kept me safe... while she nursed me back to health."

When Jason looked up, Alan was smiling at him. "She was quite a woman... even back then," a soft laugh punctuated the thought. "But given that she's a combination of the Hardy and Webber families.. that's no shock."

Jason nodded.

"She also... had a special message for me... when we were huddled together in the lobby. She wanted me to know something... to keep my strength... my hope, up." He watched Jason closely again... looking for answers to questions he couldn't even formulate. "She told me that the baby she was carrying... was yours."

Jason clutched at his chest, his fingers digging deep into the dark fabric as his eyes burned bright blue fire. "My baby?"

Alan nodded. "She told me that she was going to tell you the next time she saw you."

Unbidden, the image of her last text to him came back into his mind.

_From Elizabeth_

_We need to talk about something._  
_Heading to Metro Court for GH function._  
_Please call me tomorrow so we can meet._  
_This is very important._

"But she had the test... and she said," his mind argued with him... Carly had said it was Lucky's... Sonny too.. and he'd just assumed... he'd just believed them, "then I told her... it was better that I wasn't... I told her it was better," he looked up at Alan, "that it wasn't my baby. I never asked her... I just assumed."

Alan reached out a hand, but Jason didn't take it. Alan understood. The weight on Jason's shoulders... on his very soul, was crushing him... holding him in place.

"She was going to tell me... but then-" images of the Metro Court... the seemingly endless blooms of fire as the bombs went off... the shudder of the ground beneath his feet... the horrible realization that the building had fallen flat onto its foundations... taking Elizabeth's life and their child's with it.

Jason hunched over, his chin falling to his chest as his heart squeezed tight inside him. He opened his mouth to breathe... to say something... but there was nothing there. A moment later, a deep hole opened up inside of his soul and he began to cry.

Alan watched grief overwhelm his son and he knew that there was still a soul in his body to save. There was still something of Jason Quartermain inside of Jason Morgan.

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI -

Ewen Keenan watched over Elizabeth as the sun began to rise over the town of Newport. His own internal clock was shot to hell over all the travelling he was used to doing for his work and so he had some time to truly observe the young woman whose mind he had been ordered to alter.

He took out his tablet computer and turned it on, logging into the hospital's wifi service.

Elizabeth Webber

The search turned up quite a few things that Ric Lansing hadn't included in his file. He found pictures of her as a nurse at General Hospital. Pictures of her with her son Cameron at a play festival in the park. He found an article about her rape when she was teenager. And he found a picture of Elizabeth pictured with several men at official functions around town. None of them, he realized, were named Jason. He looked over at her again and remembered her mumbled words as she'd gone under from the sedatives. It had sounded like the name 'Jason,' but maybe he hadn't quite heard her correctly.

Maybe he had to do a little more digging.


	16. Chapter 16

PART 16

One week after Metro Court Disaster...

The cemetery surrounding the Queen of Angels Church was covered in a damp dewy blanket as scores of people arrived for the day long schedule of services. A few came and went, those that only knew the deceased through job or passing acquaintance, but many stayed thorough all the of the memorials. It would have been preferable to some to have the service's separate, but with so many dead, every church, chapel, and hall, had been scheduled for multiple services.

The last two memorials of the morning were, if anyone were to comment, and odd pair. In life, Maxie Jones and Elizabeth Webber had not been friends, but seeing how they shared so many of the same people in their lives, it was a simple matter of shifting a few people to different pews from Maxie's remembrance before they could begin the last service.

Elizabeth Webber's service began much like Maxie's, there was no body recovered from the hotel. That wasn't a shock to anyone... the building's massive structure had pancaked down on top of itself, pulverising nearly everything below the last three floors. The fact that the top floors had been nearly spared was the only reason they had been able to recover Luke's body from the security control room.

It was Damien Spinelli that carried the picture out from the waiting room and set it down on the center table in place of Maxie's portrait.

Anyone with watchful eyes would have seen him swipe the back of his hand over his eyes to stem the tears that wanted to fall, but it was young Cameron that most were focused upon. The normally energetic child looked about in varying degrees of confusion and consternation as he surveyed the gathering.

Emily Quartermain stood from her seat and with a steadying hand on Nikolas' shoulder she advanced to the podium. It took a few deep breaths before she could begin. "I want to, on behalf of Elizabeth's family, thank you all for taking the time to come and celebrate the life of one of my dearest friends... no, my best friend, Elizabeth Webber..."

They listened as Emily told a few stories about their time together as teenagers... the way they'd supported each other through the years... and then the birth of Cameron and Elizabeth's return to Port Charles. "When I saw her with Cameron, her smile.. the light in her eyes.. it was... it was... magical." Sniffling, she blotted her nose with a tissue. "When she found out that she was pregnant again, I told her that this time... she would stay here... and I ... and I would be right there... to help-"Emily's knees buckled and she fell to the floor, her hands covering her face. Nikolas darted out from his pew to help her to her feet and sit her down.

Cameron picked that moment to stand up on the pew's bench and look around the room, craning his little neck to see the assembled group.

"Cameron, sweetie," Audry tried to set him down, "we should sit down and-"

"I don't wanna sit," he declared in the absolute and sure tone that only children could manage, "I'm waiting for my Mommy!" He didn't see the looks of pain and pity that were directed at him. He continued to look about for his mother's familiar face. "Why isn't she here?"

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI -

Beyond the fact that Ric Lansing was determined to have everything he wanted in life, Ewen was certain of one other thing, Elizabeth Webber was a strong woman.

She may have a petite frame and delicate features, but beneath her luminous skin she had a will of steel when it came to her baby. Having refused numerous times to accept the idea that Ric Lansing was the father of her baby, Ewen was forced to try another tact. Every time he tried to convince her just to go along, she fought harder... the harder she fought... the more stress she was under and the stress was going to endanger her pregnancy... without her cooperation, he was going to have to resort to other methods.

After administering another dose of the drug he leaned forward in his chair and began to talk to her... rather, recite the same line over and over in her ear. "There is too much pain in 2007, Elizabeth... to many wrong turns in your journey... so let's go back... it's not 2007... or 2006... or 2005... or 2004... the year is 2003... and you're married... to Ric Lansing." He took a breath and continued. "There is too much pain in 2007, Elizabeth..."

- Queen of Angels Cemetery -

Passing Alexis Davis and her two youngest daughters huddled around Sam's grave, Lucky continued on to Elizabeth's memorial site guided by Father Coates who talked to him in low tones. Lucky heard little beyond the rush of blood in his ears and sizzle of his nerves as he considered reaching into his pocket for another pill. He barely realized that Father Coates had stopped. Turning slightly he looked at the priest, confused. "I thought you were going to put Elizabeth," he looked around the graveyard and pointed to a corner by the brick back wall to a butcher shop, "over there."

The priest returned Lucky's confused expression with one of his own. "I received your email... and the cashier's check. You wanted her memorial moved to the garden." Father Coates gestured down the hedge lined path."

Lucky caught Lulu's eye and saw her shrug. They followed Father Coates down the path.

When the hedges stopped, they stepped into a secluded alcove centered around a marble statue. Lulu stopped at his shoulder, whispering into his ear. "How did you afford this?"

Grinding his teeth together he hissed in return. "I didn't."

Father Coates smiled at them, his eyes moistened with tears. "The statue arrive yesterday afternoon from Italy. I don't know how they managed to sculpt it so quickly... it truly is a beautiful piece."

"Why does the angel have my mommy's face?" Cameron, squirming down from Audry's unresisting arms, moved closer to the marble carving in the middle of the garden and touched her face. Emily moved up to stand beside him, mussing up his curls. "This is a memorial for your Mommy, Cam." She blinked back tears and looked back at Nikolas. "Did you do this?"

The prince shook his head and turned to Audry, her hands busy wiping the tears from her own face. "Is this from her parents?"

She could only return his quizzical look for a moment before the truth dawned on her as she caught sight of another mourner in the little garden. "Jason."

His troubled blue eyes lifted to meet Audry's as he found his voice. "She deserved something beautiful to mark her life," he looked over at Cameron, peering up into his mother's marble face in wonder, "and angels watch over things."

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI -

Ewen listened as Ric ripped him a new one in the private lounge at the clinic. "Now I know why you got caught, Ewen." He grabbed the taller man's shirt and pulled him closer. "You can't even do this one thing for me. One little thing."

Reaching up with his hand Ewen removed Ric's fingers one by one as he glared at him. "It's no little thing to mess with someone's mind. It's a delicate balance and pressing things too hard can damage her psyche in a number of ways. I-"

"You've got a few more days, Ewen... I need to move her then, so you'd better hurry."

Ric took out his cell phone and walked out of the hospital dialing as he went. "Hello? So he got my resignation? Good... good... and everything else? Yes... just like I wanted. No... just put everything into the off shore accounts. And I'll know if you take more than your... customary cut."

- Queen of Angels Cemetery -

The world was closing in around Lucky as if the very lush walls of hedges surround the garden were growing up above him to block out the light. He was losing control... to Jason. The man who had always found a way to come between him and Elizabeth had found one last way to be the center of her world. To give Elizabeth something he could never give her. The wreaths and flower arrangements were lovely, his was dead center in the grouping. When he looked at the other arrangements, he paid close attention to the names on the cards.

"I don't see any flowers from you, Jason." Lucky's eyes were snapping with impotent anger. "Didn't Elizabeth rate flowers... or just the stone... cold, like your soul."

Jason didn't move, Emily walked to his side and Jason felt her hand grasp his tightly.

"She never liked being surrounded by flowers," his voice was quiet but still the words were easy to hear within the garden memorial, "it made her think of funerals."

"Well," Lucky ground out between his teeth, "shows how much you know, Jason... she loved flowers... the more the better... and if you really knew her..." Lucky's mind fumed... Jason just stood there... quiet... beaten, "you were just a distraction." Shouldering his way past the enforcer, Lucky left the garden without a backward glance for Cameron.

Jason's eyes watched the young boy as he tentatively approached the marble angel, his steps hesitated as if he wasn't quite sure what to do. Crawling up onto the bench beside the figure, he leaned his shoulder against hers and looked down into the face of the baby she held in her arms.

Cameron touched the forehead with a gentle stroke of his fingers and then turned his head to look at the object in the angel's hand. An oddly shaped chunk of glass was held delicately in place, turned so that the sunlight might shine directly through the stone and offer some semblance of a warm pink to the baby's skin.

"What's that?" Cameron asked no one in particular.

Several people turned to look at each other, but no one had an answer.

No one, until Jason spoke up. "It's a piece of glass... from Italy." He let go of Emily's hand and crossed over to the bench. Sitting down beside Cameron he pointed to the glass. "I gave a piece like that to your mother a long time ago. She really loved the color."

Cameron nodded. "Where is the one you gave her?"

Jason let go of a breath that sent a shiver through his body. "I don't know, Cam... maybe she lost it."

"No," Emily stepped up and knelt at Jason's feet. "I've seen something like that before." She looked up at Nikolas with a smile. "In her jewelry box. It was in the bottom of the box tucked away with a postcard and," she smiled through her tears, "a label from a baseball bat-"

Cameron turned to his aunt with a confused pinch between his eyebrows. "My mom played baseball?"

Jason sucked in a breath as images of Elizabeth in his arms, their hands joined as he showed her how to swing the baseball bat, flooded his mind. "Not really, Cam... but she had one... that I gave her."

The young boy looked up into Jason's face for a moment, his gaze roaming over his features. Wrapping his arms around Jason's neck he settled into his lap and sighed. Cameron's voice, muffled against his neck, cut through Jason's pain. "Did my mom ever give you something?"

Looking over at the baby, held lovingly in the embrace of Elizabeth's statue, he nodded as he wrapped his arms around Cameron. "She gave me the world."

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI -

Ric's cell phone rang and he looked at the screen. He let it go to voice mail and listened to it later.

"Hello, DA Lansing... I want to know... where you are. You promised me something in exchange for Elizabeth. You got your prize... now where... is mine?"


	17. Chapter 17

PART 17

- Port Charles Police Department -

Mac called Cruz and Lucky into his office and barely waited for the door to close before he started in on Lucky. "I want to know if I have to create a taskforce to get your head out of your ass, Lucky!"

The younger Spencer found a little bit of outrage through the cloud of his anger. "What have I done?"

Stalking around his desk, Mac pushed a finger into Lucky's chest. "It's what you haven't done... come on, Lucky... look at Cruz," he turned to the other man in the room, "he's barely gone off the clock since this whole thing began. He's been here manning the phones or out in the field looking for this madman!"

"I've had family business, Mac... you know about my dad and Liz-"

"That's right, the woman who you married but slept with Maxie while you were... yes... I can see how you're so worked up about it... but here I am... working because I want to catch the man responsible for their deaths!"

Lucky didn't like being on the receiving end of Mac's anger and looked for another target. "What about Ric Lansing?" Lucky pushed on when he saw the reaction from Mac. "He was in charge of all the negotiations... what does he have to say about all of this?"

"That," interjected the Mayor as he pushed Mac's door open, "is what I'd like to know!"

-Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI-

Ric closed his phone and looked around to make sure he was alone. He had hoped that the man who'd taken the bullet at the back door of the Metro Court had been the man in charge. He'd hoped it was over... and now he knew he was in trouble. He'd prepared his letter of resignation for the Mayor and had sent it off in the mail... a forwarding service that would bounce around from office to office and finally make it seem as though his letter originated in Los Angeles.

He'd planned to get Ewen to fix Elizabeth and then get her moved to another hospital where he had a few other people under his control. He started to head for Elizabeth's room but instead he opened his phone again. When the line picked up he barely heard the person on the other end of the line begin a greeting before he butted in. "I need some men... a few reliable... never mind... I want men who'll do anything for money... small brains, big muscles... yes... that's the kind. I'll give you the address..."

-Corinthos Coffee Warehouse -

"Mr. Corinthos?"

Sonny barely looked up at the man in the doorway. "What is it, Carl?"

"Someone here to see you-"

"I'm busy, Carl... tell them to make an appointment and-"

"You tell 'Mr. Corinthos' that he's going to see me now!"

Sonny recognized the booming bellow of Maximus Giambetti. Standing up from behind his desk, Sonny buttoned his coat and nodded. "Send him in."

- Queen of Angels Cemetery -

The shadows of twilight were beginning to fall like cobwebs over the figures still remaining in the garden. Nikolas had taken Emily home nearly an hour before and now... the only ones left in the private sanctuary were Audry, Cam and Jason.

If there was something odd about the way the man sat nearly statue-like himself as Cameron made himself at home, Audry said nothing. She watched Jason as he quietly tried to explain to Cameron that his mother had indeed gone on to become an angel.

She'd lost count of the number of time she had herself tried to explain it to the young boy, but somewhere in the back of her mind she knew what a gift it was that Cameron had not yet felt the weight of his loss.

When she looked up from her wristwatch she noticed that Jason had already put on Cameron's coat as he struggled to get the young boy to understand. "Your mom is an angel now, Cameron... you know that, right?"

"Sure," Cameron gave the angel's hair a soft pat, "she's always been real nice... she's always been an angel."

Jason's eyes met Audry's and he tried again. "She's up in heaven now... she's there with your baby brother or sister and someday we'll see her again."

"Some day soon." Cameron touched the angel's ear. "She don't have those shiny rings in her ears that mommy liked."

"I'm sure you mother would like you live a long time before you get to heaven, Cam. I know that your Great Grandma Audry and I-"

"Jason," Cam's voice was tinged with irritation, "you're not lissenin' to me!" His little shoulders rose and fell with a huff of breath. "She's not up in heaven, Jason." He looked at both of them in turn. "She's here with us... but not..."

"Cameron," Jason could tell by the sound of Audry's voice that she was fighting tears, "we ought to get home so you can sleep." She moved closer and took Cameron's hand, but he snaked it out of her grasp and scooted closer to Jason.

"You feel it... don't you?" Cameron touched his hand to Jason's chest, near to his thundering heart. "You can feel her if you try."

Jason tried to show some hope in his eyes, but he felt nothing beyond the grief. "Cam, I-"

"No, listen!" Cam pressed harder, his little fingers pushed hard against the muscle. "When I say my prayers at night," Cam insisted, "when I'm real quiet and thinking hard about her... I can feel her... right here."

Cam walked over to Audry and they started toward the garden's entrance. When they were about to disappear into the hedges, Cam turned around and smiled at Jason. "She'll really like seeing this when she comes home."

- Port Charles Police Department -

The Mayor made himself at home in the office, sitting on the edge of Mac's desk. "I haven't seen him since he walked off that night."

Cruz, owing it later to his lack of sleep and one too many cups of coffee, spoke up. "You did order him to leave."

The look he got from the Mayor was direct and it wasn't happy. "I'll let you know when your opinion is needed."

Mac had no time for posturing. "Finding your DA is your problem. I have to find the man responsible for all of this."

"This," the Mayor leaned in toward Mac, but his tone was loud enough for all of them to hear, "is a mess neither one of us can escape from, Scorpio. The media is eating this up. With the mob connections... the near death of a well respected doctor and the death of that poor girl who was pregnant... we can either come out of this looking like we belong in office or we can look like FEMA in New Orleans with our trousers down around our ankles."

"My niece," Mac added, "died in the Metro Court."

The fact barely registered. "Yes, yes... she's the one who gave drugs to one of your police- oh, there you are Spencer." The Mayor smiled, a rueful little grin that sent Cruz's nerves into spasms. "Weren't you married to the Webber girl? Shame how you ruined it... she was a pretty little thing."

Cruz had little warning beyond the scream that preceded Lucky's arm winding up for a punch. He managed to grab Lucky's arm in time to stop him from knocking the Mayor to the ground. He whispered into Lucky's ear as he tried to restrain him. "It won't do you any good, Lucky... it won't do you any good."

Lucky wrenched himself free of his friend's hold as he growled back. "But it'll be fun." A moment later he had knocked the Mayor down to the ground.

- Corinthos Coffee Warehouse -

Maximus all but filled up the available space in the office. It wasn't his broad shoulders or commanding presence, no, it was the seething anger in his eyes. "I let my boys work for your business, Corinthos."

"Yes, you did, and I wanted to say-"

"You get to talk when I say you do!"

Sonny's man, Carl, was visibly spooked. He had none of the cool menace that Jason would have had in a similar situation.

"Why was it that I had to hear from the butcher in my town that my son was dead!" Maximus slapped the newspaper down on Sonny's desk. The Italian newspaper had a picture and article about the Metro Court and included a picture of Max he was a young man set beside a photo of a body covered in a sheet. "Why was I not told immediately?"

Sonny nodded. "I wanted to talk to you personally, Maximus. We were all in that Metro Court when it happened and since then-"

"You've been busy?" Maximus' voice thundered in the room. "I should be burying my son and you're busy!" He looked about the room. "Where's Morgan? Jason Morgan!"

"He's been... he should have been the one handling the business, but since the disaster, we haven't seen him and-"

Maximus' big belly laugh startled Sonny into silence. "You can't even find your right-hand man?" He could find no one else in the room that would look him in the eye. "Your house, Corinthos, is in no kind of order right now." He glared at the shorter man. "Don't be surprised when someone else takes hold of what you can't handle."

Sonny's voice whispered into the near silent room. "Are you threatening me?"

"I'm giving you a warning, Corinthos," Maximum spat, "it was more than my boy had... when you left him behind." It was the surprise and flicker of guilt in Sonny's expression that told Maximus that he had guessed right. "Max always had a soft spot for that woman... Carly. It got him killed... be careful that the same thing doesn't happen to you."

-Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI-

Ewen opened the door to Elizabeth's room and stopped short. Two men who looked more at home being patients of a hospital than staff in one, stood beside the door. "Excuse me," he began, "who are you?"

The taller one answered him back. "The boss hired us to watch over his wife."

"The... the boss?"

"They mean me." Ric walked up to the door and moved past Ewen to look at Elizabeth. "Why is she sleeping again?"

Ewen's answer came out of habit. Self-preservation was a needful thing. "Between the scare at the Metro Court and the early labor pains, she's worn out. The mind, as well, it takes a lot of energy from the body. And all the work that I've been doing with her-"

"Yes," Ric looked at him again, "how is your work coming along, Dr. Keenan?"

"It's better... she's not fighting," he refused to add 'not much' to his statement, Ric didn't react well to hurdles, "she's close to a breakthrough."

"She'd better be better than 'close,'" Ric interjected, "I need to move her by the end of the week and she'll have to be compliant." He leaned in closer until Ewen could smell the coffee on Ric's breath. "Am I clear?"

"Crystal."

- Jason Morgan's Penthouse -

Jason opened the door and threw down the keys as the door swung shut behind him. He barely managed to make it to the couch before his legs all but gave out beneath him. He hadn't even bothered with the lights so when he laid down on the couch he just closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep.

Long moments passed and the only sound he heard was his breathing in the room, a deep low ragged sound.

Breathing.

Oxygen.

A soft beep.

And another and another.

A shift of sound. Cotton against cotton, not the leather couch beneath him.

"You feel it... don't you?" Cameron's voice whispered into his head and Jason placed his hand over his heart like Cameron had done a few hours earlier. "You can feel her if you try."

Jason squeezed his eyes shut against the pain that opened a hole deep in his middle. He pressed his hand harder against his heart and hissed out a breath.

There.

A flutter of a touch on his hand. A warmth in his heart. A whisper of sound like a prayer from deep within his heart. "Elizabeth."


	18. Chapter 18

PART 18

- General Hospital - ICU -

Alan Quartermain awoke in the middle of the night. It took him a moment for his eyes to adjust to the low light of the room, but once they did it was easy for him to see the silhouette of the man standing just inside the doorway. The hesitant stance, the broad expanse of muscle, and the stern expression on his face made him easy to identify. "Jason... is something wrong?"

"I'm sorry to wake you."

Alan smiled at the concern in his voice. "No... no... it's fine... what happened?"

Jason barely moved. Didn't look up at all. "I went to Elizabeth's memorial."

"I know," he nodded in sympathy, "Emily stopped by and told us about it. It's a beautiful way to remember her, son."

"Cameron was there with Audry."

Again, Alan's smile was soft... melacholy, even though Jason didn't look at him. "He's so much like Elizabeth."

"Cameron said something to me before he went home with Audry." Jason took in a breath and pressed it out of his lungs as he moved forward, sitting on the edge of Alan's bed. He felt odd talking to Alan at all, but to reveal something this... personal. "He said Elizabeth wasn't dead... that he still... that I could feel her if I tried."

There was a long pause between them as Alan considered his words. "And do you... feel her, son?"

Jason's hand pressed tight over his heart even as his head shook slowly from side to side. He looked up at Alan with confusion plainly written in his features. "I... I don't know," he pressed his lips tightly together, "I feel...something... but I don't... the Metro Court..."

Alan reached out a hand and touched Jason on the shoulder. "You've made a life for yourself on your instincts alone, Jason... you've lived because there's something inside you that had guided you... saved your life on many occasions..."

In Jason's mind he watched memory after memory of those moments... those 'tight spots' that he'd gotten out of.. wounds that he'd survived... most of them because of Elizabeth.

"So if you're instinct is telling you that's she's still alive," he sighed and offered Jason an encouraging smile. "Then maybe you ought to listen to your instincts."

- Corinthos Coffee Warehouse -

Sonny Corinthos was off his game. He had been for months, but now... as he stared down Maximus Giambetti, he did something he rarely did. He blinked. And as the elder of the two and the most experienced, Maximus caught the slip and exploited it.

"The first thing you're going to do," he instructed the mob boss, "is go down to the morgue and claim my son's body and take it to this funeral home," he produced a card and gave it to Sonny, "they'll take care of him in the manner to which my son deserves. They'll expect," he added, "your assurance that the bill will be paid."

The room stilled as Sonny looked at the card. He wasn't a man used to anyone telling him what to do, but without Jason in the room... without Jason standing with him... he was uncomfortable to say the least. "Max was one of us," he felt his throat close a little as he said the words, "we'll take care of his funeral."

Before Maximus could continue, a woman barreled into the office past the guards and nearly ran into Maximus in her haste. "Who are you people, I-" she stopped short and her eyes widened, "you! You're... I mean, Max... well, I'm Carly and-"

"You," Maximus glared at the woman standing before him, "you're the one I really wanted to see."

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI -

Ewen struggled with every minute of Elizabeth's... treatment. He hated it. Hated himself for doing it, but it was less stress for Elizabeth and her baby if he did it this way. "You're married to Ric Lansing."

She barely nodded, the suggestive state of her mind was near absolute. "Married to Ric..."

"You're happy with him..."

"Happy..."

"You're expecting a child..." There was a pause, a stillness of her body that worried him. "Elizabeth, you're expecting a child..."

Her hand drifted over her baby, her fingers caressing the rounded bump with grace and love. "A baby..."

"With Ric Lansing," he prompted her, his eyes willing her to agree.

She continued to smooth her hands over the baby until she sighed. "The baby... no, not Ric." Her brow furrowed and she shook her head. "No... not his."

A warning took Ewen's attention off his patient and he had to agree with Dr. Scoville's reproach when the man entered the room. "You've got to figure this out quickly." The doctor increased the drip into her IV. "It's not just going to be hurting her... you have to worry about her child." They both agreed silently. Elizabeth's own concern was for her child's welfare.

Ewen made a note in his chart. During their next session he would try another tact.

- Tribeca, New York -

Craig opened his room at the hotel and stared at the sparse furnishings around him. "Not quite the Metro Court... but never mind that... I'll be done with this place and probably done with anything in America once I find where DA Lansing has holed up.

He set down the grocery bags on the bed and sat down to unpack the contents. A six pack of beer, chips and salsa, a map of New York and the surrounding states, a prepaid cell phone,  
sandwich fixings and buried down at the bottom of the bag and conveniently picked up at a dark street corner... a .357 complete with a handful of bullets. "It's not much," Craig lamented as he opened a beer, "but it's a start."

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI -

Ric set up the conference call in the seclusion of Dr. Scoville's office. The doctor had made himself scarce whenever Ric was around and that was fine... as far as Ric was concerned. It was so much easier to hide things when you didn't have to worry about someone eavesdropping.

"I want the transition to be as easy as possible for my wife," he began, "I want to make sure that the transport vehicle will have the easiest ride possible. She has been put on bed rest by her doctor and I don't want any bumps that aren't completely necessary." He tapped his pencil on the blotter."

"We have a vehicle that will suit for your purposes. We'll have it available to you within the week."

Ric shifted forward in his chair. "I want it ready at any time... we may have to move at a moment's notice."

"Will her doctor be travelling with her?"

"We'll have another doctor at our destination. I only want your assurances that she'll be safe while in transit. We have," he drew in a shaky breath as he pressed a hand against his temple, the stress was getting to him, "lost a baby before... and I will not lose this one." There was silence on the line. "Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now," Ric calmed when he heard the reassurance in the man's voice, sitting back in his chair, "I want tinted windows. I don't want anyone to see inside the vehicle. We need to travel in secret..."

- Corinthos Coffee Warehouse -

Carly felt very alone in that room. It wasn't just that it was full of men, usually that was a good thing for her. Having a man like Maximus Giambetti stare her down was not something she enjoyed. There had been few men in her life that could make her feel this... odd and uncomfortable. Tony Jones had been one... but only after he'd discovered that warming his bed had strings attached... to her mother of all people. AJ Quartermain... the man she'd all but destroyed just to keep her son. There were a few others, but at that moment she couldn't remember them.

In the eyes of Maximus Giambetti she saw judgement... and it was cold and scary place.  
"I think Carly should be the one to personally see to my son's care and his memorial. She was," he scoffed, "someone my son cared for deeply." He narrowed his gaze at her. "His mother, God rest her soul, had been a beautiful woman inside and out, but you... he must have been blind to think that you were anything like her."

Sonny could only agree to part of Maximus' statements. "Carly would be more than happy to see to the Memorial. Is there anything else?"

He nearly laughed. "Oh, there's no end to the concessions you're about to make, Corinthos." The man thought for a minute. "But the next thing on my list is talking to Jason Morgan. Where is he?"  
Sonny and Carly shared a look.

- General Hospital -

Spinelli appeared in the doorway of Alan Quartermain's room like a mouse afraid of his tail being lopped off. He cleared his throat to get Jason's attention. "You called?"

Alan gave his son a nod and closed his eyes to get some sleep.

Jason pulled Spinelli out into the hall and sat him down at an empty part of the nurse's station. "I need you to go back over the footage from the security cameras at the Metro Court." He saw the hesitation in Spinelli's eyes. "What?"

"The cameras, sir. They were mostly damaged in the collapse of the building. I can check and see if they had information stored off-site, but I'm not sure"

"You once told me you could do anything with a computer. Right?"

Spinelli straightened up a bit and nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Then do this, Spinelli."

Opening his laptop, he waited for it to power up. "What am I looking for... specifically?"

Jason let out a measured breath, trying to still his own anxious heart. "Elizabeth."


	19. Chapter 19

PART 19

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI - Private Room -

The dark interior of this hospital room was vaguely disconcerting. As Elizabeth opened her eyes she was very conscious of the quiet in the room and the soft beeping coming from the machines beside the bed. Her mind was full of fragments... pictures, sounds, a kaleidoscope of things that felt familiar but there were faces... and voices she couldn't place.

The door opened up and a nurse walked in, the glint of light from the stethoscope was easy to distinguish as was the rather large man standing at attention outside the door.

"Hey, you're awake." The nurse's smile was sweet and genuine.

Elizabeth felt her body relax a little bit. Her hand lifted to drift over her stomach. "Have I been here long?"

The nurse looked a little confused. "Well, about a week..." she picked up the chart and looked at it, "yep... and I've been assigned to you for the last few days."

Looking at the doorway, Elizabeth leaned toward the nurse, lowering her voice. "Who is that outside?"

Looking over her own shoulder the nurse turned back with a toothy grin. "Dumb or Dumber?" She saw that Elizabeth didn't share her little joke. "They've been on your door for pretty much the week as well... we were all wondering what kind of celebrity you were... having armed guards-"

"Armed guards?" Elizabeth tried to sit up a little, but the nurse put gentle pressure on her shoulder to settle her back down. "Why do I have armed guards?" The slight pressure she was experiencing in her temples grew. Elizabeth pressed one hand to the side of her head. "Why? Who?" She turned her face away from the light coming in the door. "Please... I need some rest."

The nurse, concerned for her patient made a note in the chart and also made a note in her mind to talk to Dr. Scoville. "I'll be nearby if you need me. Just use the call button." She covered Elizabeth's hand with her own. "Don't worry... your husband will be here soon."

Elizabeth's eyes squeezed shut, the pain in her head nearly blinding her. "My... my husband?" She shook her head and pressed the heel of her hand tightly against her forehead. The door closed quietly and the sudden dark relieved some of the pressure, so did the name that fell leaden from her lips. "Ric."

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI - Dr. Scoville's Office -

Ewen sat in a chair against the wall, his face in his hands. Dr. Scoville hovered nearby as Ric listened to the audio monitor that was connected to Elizabeth's room and tried not to cringe visibly as Ric laughed.

"I have to hand it to you, Ewen..." Ric stood up from the Doctor's chair and sat down on the edge of the desk so he could look down on the Aussie. "You've done it." Sighing, he crossed his arms over his chest. "I guess you're free to go back to Aus-"

"It's working," Ewen interjected, "but it's not set... not yet."

Ric's eyes narrowed. "What are you telling me?"

Pushing himself out of his chair, he loomed over the DA. "I'm telling you the truth. Sure, she's begun to accept the suggestions I've planted, but right now... anything could change. She could see something... hear something... and it might come right back."

Ric stood up, his chin lifting a little so he could look into Ewen's eyes. "Are you telling me you can't do this? If that's the case I'll just get someone else to-"

"Don't," Ewen bit back, "go there. I can do it, but this kind of thing takes time if you want it to last." He looked at Scoville over Ric's head. "The brain is constantly creating new neuro-passages and if we-"

"Fine... fine..." Ric waved him off. "I don't need the whole medical mumbo-jumbo. Just tell me when you're done." Ric moved toward the door and stopped just short of it. "I'm moving her in two days. You either get her ready to leave with me... or you're coming too." He narrowed his gaze at the taller man. "And I'm not a big fan of the third wheel, Ewen... you never know when I might decide to leave it at the side of the road."

- Tribeca, New York -

Opening up the prepaid phone, Craig dialed one of the many less-than-scrupulous cohorts he'd had from time to time. It never paid to work too closely with men who worked in the same vocation as he did, but it did pay to keep tabs with them.

"Atlantic Cable, Dorn speaking."

"Atlantic Cable," Craig scoffed, "that's some cover you have, Dorn."

He could almost hear the curious look on the other end of the phone. "What are you calling for?"

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Where are your customer service skills," Craig chided, "I may have to ask for your supervisor-"

"What do you want?"

Craig's smile dimmed a little and he made up his mind to pay Dorn a little visit... after he dealt with Ric Lansing. "I need you to track a cell phone for me."

There was a bit of silence. "Not for free."

A muscle ticked in Craig's jaw. "You'll be paid for this, Dorn." Craig's finger caressed the trigger of his .357. "Here's the number..."

The ubiquitous mumbled sounds of 'uh huh' and 'mm hm' punctuated the phone number. And then, "Okay... got it. I'll get that information for you... then I'll call with the drop off information."

A moment and then Craig answered. "I need that information now, Dorn." He could hear the creaking squeak of a rusted armchair on the other end of the line.

"Like I said..." Dorn sighed heavy into the phone, "Not for free. You bring five thousand dollars to the drop off point and I'll give you the information."

His lips pressed together Craig nodded at his reflection in the mottled mirror on the wall of his hotel room. "You'll get your money. Call me when you have the information." He shut the phone and stared at his image. "You'll get your money, Dorn... but I'll take it back from your cold... dead... hands." Craig wasn't quite sure who smiled first.

= General Hospital - The Hallway outside Alan Quartermain's office -

Jason left Spinelli mumbling to himself with a bag of cheese puffs at one hand and a 2-liter bottle of orange soda at the other and stepped out into the hall to get some coffee. The computer hacker had been hard at work for the last few hours as he'd accessed the security database of the Metro Court. Jax had been more than happy to give Spinelli an access code. He'd said it was so much easier to give it to the boy instead of having him hack into the system and cause other problems. While Jason had waited on the phone for Jax to find the information on the ipad, Jax had added, "once you said it was for Elizabeth... I thought you were crazy, but if there's any hope... ANY HOPE that she could be alive... we have to find out. She's special to me, Jason."

Jason had agreed with Jax, but he could only muster up a, "yes, she is," before his own throat had close up. Once Spinelli had the access code, the boy went to work piecing together security footage from the Metro Court. It was no small feat as the Metro Court had no shortage of surveillance cameras. They had built it to be a state of the art hotel.

As he waited at the vending machine he heard the sudden intake of breath and turned to see Dr. Kelly Lee standing in the middle of the hall staring at him. "Jason, I'm... I'm so sorry."

He left the coffee in the machine and approached the doctor.

"I was trying to get a hold of you..."

Jason nodded. "If it's about Sam, we're not-"

"No!" Kelly sighed, her eyes squeezed shut. "But I guess it doesn't matter."

Narrowing his eyes at the doctor, he asked the next obvious question. "Was it about Elizabeth?"

The doctor nibbled on her lip. "It was a moment of weakness. She said she was going to tell you..." she swiped at tears in her eyes, "I was trying to get a hold of her about her tests but she wasn't answering... and when I heard about the hostages... I knew... I just knew she couldn't." Kelly looked him straight in the eye. "I knew if anyone could get to her... it would be you."

Something dark settled in the pit of his stomach as he read the changes of emotion in the woman's face. He may not be able to see much in art, but he could read strain in an expression. He could read anxiety. And as his worry built, he knew he could see real unadulterated worry. "What about her tests? I know she was carrying my baby."

Kelly's relief was immediate and it changed to sympathy in a heartbeat. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Jason," she sighed as she set a hand on his arm, "but either way Elizabeth and the baby may not have survived much longer anyway."

Jason was familiar with the cold hand of fear around his heart. Elizabeth in danger always provoked that response from him. "Why?"

Kelly lowered her voice as she stepped closer. She was about to disclose privileged information, but since Elizabeth was gone and Jason was the father... she excused the breach in her own attempt to share her burden with someone else. "She'd come in earlier that day, dizzy, suffering from excess swelling and other symptoms. I put a rush on the tests... there was just something about the way she looked. I had to know." She fought back more tears as she looked up into his eyes. "She was suffering from preeclampsia. I was calling to get her to come back to the hospital and put her on bed rest and medication. Jason," she drew in a breath that sounded like a sob, "without care, Elizabeth would probably have lost the baby and... we might have lost her too-"

Jason was gone before she finished her sentence and she was left staring at the empty stretch of hallway.

- General Hospital - Alan Quartermain's Office -

Jason flung the door open and slammed his hand down on the desk, startling Spinelli so much that a half-eaten cheese puff fell from the boy's lips onto his keyboard. "Goodness, Stonecold, you scared m-"

"I need you to hurry this up, Spinelli."

The boy gestured to the screen and his work. "I'm going as fast as the antiquated hospital wi-fi system can-"

"Spinelli!" He took a breath, trying to keep his hands from the boy's throat. "I need you to hurry up... Elizabeth... the baby... they need help from a doctor."

Spinelli's gaze turned back to his laptop and his fingers began to fly over the keys.

Leaning back against the wall he took out his phone and dialed Sonny's office.

The phone picked up in one ring. "Corinthos Coffee."

"Where's Sonny, it's Jason."

"Jason, I-"

"Hello, Mr. Morgan."

It took Jason a moment to remember the voice. "Maximus."

A deep chuckle answered him. "That's right, Jason... we should talk."


	20. Chapter 20

Part 20

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI - Private Room

Dr. Scoville made a note in the chart and looked up smiling. "Well, Elizabeth-"

"Mrs. Lansing," Ric prompted the doctor with a pointed look.

Clearing his throat and rocking back on his heels, Scoville started over. "Mrs. Lansing, it seems as though we're getting everything under control. With your bed-rest and your willingness to keep a calm cool head about this," he started to reach his hand out to touch her arm but a look from Ric stopped him cold, "I think we'll be able to get your baby to term."

Elizabeth's smile was radiant as she smoothed her hand over the growing bump. "Thank goodness," she breathed, "I don't want anything to go wrong with my little boy because-"

"Boy?" Ric looked from Elizabeth to the doctor starting back wide-eyed. "You had a sonogram?" Ric clamped his lips together, worried he'd slipped up.

"Sonogram..." Elizabeth's voice took on a soft melodic quality to it and she hummed a little as she searched for her memories. Beside her Ric tensed as they waited. "I don't think so," she blinked rapidly as she looked from one empty corner of the room to another, "I don't know how I know... but I... I think I know it's a boy..."

Ric, eager to smooth over this bump, reached over and smoothed the back of her hand with his fingertips. "It doesn't matter, sweetheart... I'm happy either way... as long as we have a healthy baby... that's all I need."

Elizabeth smiled even though her head was slowly filling up with pain. "Thank you, doctor."

The man closed the file and asked her a simple question. "Have you thought of names yet?" He realized his mistake when Ric shot him a disapproving look."

"A name?" Elizabeth pressed one hand to her temple and squinted in to the low-light of the room. "A name..." she turned to look at Ric and saw the worry in his eyes. "I didn't have anything picked out... but the name in my head..." she winced and pressed her other hand to her other temple. "Cameron."

- Tribeca, New York -

Craig tossed his last beer can into the trash. "American swill." He picked up his cell phone and stared at is as if the cold look in his eyes was enough to make it ring. When it didn't, he flipped open the top and grimaced at the size of the $29.99 phone and punched in the numbers.

The phone rang three times before the answering system kicked on. He waited... barely... through the usual message. When it was over he waited for the beep... and then. "Dorn, you better have a good explanation why I'm sitting in hell waiting for you to do your job. Call me, damn it."

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Newport, RI - Dr. Scoville's office -

Ewen pressed his hand over his eyes and waited for Ric to stop threatening him. It took awhile. "There are bound to be holes in the suggestions that I gave her." He held up his hand to stop Ric's further tirade. "You have to give her some room. If you push her it could cause more problems. She could have a break."

That stopped Ric short. "A break."

Dr. Scoville nodded. "It's not unheard of. Ewen took her back to her first pregnancy when you were married, mainly because she was fighting the lateral change too much. Taking her back to when she was pregnant before-"

"Made it easier for her mind to accept the shift." Ewen was grateful for the other doctor's help, but he wanted to make sure that Ric felt secure. Part of making this a success was keeping Ric happy and not looking too closely at what he'd done. "She was happy with you when she was pregnant."

"Yes," Ric thought back to the time when she'd been pregnant with their child... before Faith pushed her down the steps at Rice Plaza. "She was so happy... so beautiful... just like she is now."

Ewen stood and nodded. "So we keep her happy... we keep her enjoying her life with you... and her mind, like a physical scar... will heal... fill in the gaps. You just have to give her some time and-"

"Time," Ric shot back, "is not really something we have too much of." He looked at both of them. "We're moving her soon. I have another place where she'll be safer... farther away from here." Scoville and Ewen shared a look when Ric opened his cell phone. When he looked back up at them they were watching him. "So she better be ready to move in a day or so."

"Is that really safe?"

Ric shut Doctor Scoville down with a glare. "It will have to be... I need to get her away from here."

Ewen tugged at the collar of his shirt. "It would be best for her to stay in one place until-"

"If we stay here," Ric ground the words out from between his clenched teeth, "we'll be in more trouble than just losing the baby." He turned his back on the two men and they left. When the door closed behind him he looked up into the window and caught sight of his own expression. He'd been keeping tabs on the happenings in Port Charles and he'd been beyond happy when Elizabeth was listed amongst the dead. He'd worried about having people on their trail, but he'd been granted a reprieve. He just knew that he couldn't trust that it would remain that way.

If there was one thing that he could count on... it was Jason Morgan sniffing around Elizabeth... that man was nothing but dogged when he had his mind on something. He only hoped he had enough time to stow Elizabeth away before Jason Morgan realized she was still alive.

- General Hospital - Alan Quartermain's Office -

Jason took a breath before he opened the door and let Maximus Giambetti into Alan's office, his current 'base of operations' as Spinelli had dubbed it in between intravenous applications of monster and orange soda.

"Morgan."

"Mr. Giambetti."

Maximus' guards set up outside the door as Jason closed it. "I'm glad you came here, I'm short on time."

Maximus seemed to consider Jason's words as he looked over at Spinelli. The younger man was bent over his laptop mumbling to himself.

"My son always respected you, Morgan."

"He was my friend."

The elder man grunted out his approval. "He said as much himself." He looked closely at Jason. "My men told me you lost someone else in the hotel."

It was strange. Here in Alan's office, faced with what could be a 'rival' mob boss, Jason felt tears prick at his eyes, but he wasn't prepared for the rush of emotion when he said her name. "Elizabeth Webber." He took in another breath even though his chest felt like it was bound with tight metal. "She's carrying my child."

Maximus caught the words quickly. "Carrying."

Jason nodded. "We thought she died in the building, but something tells me she's still alive."

A moment later, Maximus nodded, a single lift and lowering of his head. "Your man is searching for some evidence."

Jason nodded. "That's why I called Sonny's office. I need some of the men with me to search for her."

Maximus agreed quickly. "Max liked her... I've heard of Elizabeth Webber before. She healed you... a few times... as Max told it."

"Yes," Jason was relieved somehow that Maximus seemed 'calm' about the whole issue, "but something tells me you didn't come here about my loss."

Folding his arms over his barrel chest, Maximus managed to shrug. "I think it might be just that simple," he began, "my son lost his life in service of Sonny Corinthos and when they had a chance to help him live... they walked over his body on their way to safety."

Jason heard the truth in the man's voice and it saddened him. Still, the idea of what he'd said... didn't shock him. Yes, their men were hired to give their lives for their bosses if it needed it to happen... but only when there was nothing else that could be done. The idea that Max had lost his life needlessly was a physical pain in Jason's chest.

"So I've decided that a little 'pay back' was in order."

Jason stilled. His eyes narrowed.

"Don't worry, Morgan, he's still alive..." the silence that followed clearly said 'for now,' "I've decided to step in and make sure things are run the way they should be." He looked Jason over, paying close attention to Jason's eyes. "There's something else? Something wrong with Elizabeth?"

Jason didn't ask how the man knew. There was no need to waste time with things that didn't matter. "She might be suffering from preeclampsia."

The elder man's expression darkened. "We lost Max and Milo's mother that way. We lost a little girl as well."

Jason's silence said more than words.

"Take whatever men you need. I brought a number of my own with me."

There wasn't going to be an argument from Jason, he just nodded his thanks.

"And when you find her and bring her home," Maximus continued, "we'll talk about the future then." Maximus held out his hand to Jason. "I wish you the best, Morgan. Find your woman... find your child... remember what a gift they both are."

As soon as Maximus left the room, Spinelli turned around on his swivel chair. "I don't know what else to do, Stonecold... I've reviewed all the footage and all we have in the tapes that Mr. Jax sent over was the video of her heading toward the back door. There's nothing definitive." Spinelli threw his hands up. "I don't know what else to do!"

Jason closed his eyes for a moment as his mind chased after an errand thought. "Preeclampsia."

Spinelli stared at him. "What, sir?"

"Preeclampsia." Jason opened his eyes and stared at Spinelli... whoever has her they had to take her to a hospital... a clinic of some kind. Elizabeth needed a doctor's care and bed rest."

The idea stuck in one of Spinelli's brainwaves. "So we need to search for women suffering from preeclampsia that were admitted at about the time that the Metro Court collapsed! Yes!" Spinelli fist-pumped and held up a hand for a high-five.

Jason opened his phone as he gave Spinelli one last order. "Find her, Spinelli... I have someone I need to see."

"Don't you worry, Stonecold Sir... I'll find your fair love."

Jason stopped short of the door. Jason was used to Spinelli calling her 'the maternal one' but the change in her 'nickname' hit him oddly. It felt right.


	21. Chapter 21

PART 21

- the Hardy House -

Audry opened the front door, even though she knew from a quick look through the peep hole that it was Jason on the other side of the door. She stood in the doorway for a moment looking at him, really looking at the man inside of the mob-covered shell. She saw the shadows under his eyes and the tight, drawn look of his face. She saw beyond the newspaper stories and hushed gossip of Port Charles and saw the dogged determination and deep worry in the tension of his body. "Jason, I appreciate you coming by-"

"I'm not here to cause trouble, Mrs. Hardy. I just... I wanted to see Cameron again."

Her fingers tensed on the door frame. "I'm not so sure that's a good thing right now." She tilted her head as she looked at him. "Cameron's having a hard time accepting his mother's death and I heard what he said to you at the memorial, and-"

"I think he's right, Mrs. Hardy." Jason saw the utter disbelief in her eyes and he was tempted to mirror the look with one of his own, but there was that undeniable tug at his heart that he couldn't ignore. "I have my men looking for her..." he decided to bare his worries to her in hope that she would understand, "Elizabeth is carrying my baby."

Audry's hand clapped over her mouth. "Your baby."

He nodded. "I didn't want to tell you like this... Elizabeth will confirm it when I have her home safely, but until then... I want you to know that I will do anything it takes to find her and bring her home to you and to Cameron."

Reeling from the news, Audry backed away from the door and let him in. "Cameron is upstairs getting ready for bed. It's the second door-"

"Elizabeth's room," Jason completed the thought before he sprinted up the stairs.

- Elizabeth's Room in the Hardy House -

Cameron looked up from his Chuggin' Charlie book and smiled at Jason. "Is my mommy with you?"

The trust in the boy's eyes... and the equal of it in his heart, humbled Jason. "No, Cameron... not yet... but soon."

Sighing, Cameron's shoulders slumped. "Fine... but I'm really tired of people trying to tell me she's not comin' back! I know my mommy, Jason... and she wouldn't leave me all alone."

An invisible hand clutched at his heart. "No, Cam... she wouldn't... not your mommy."

Cameron nodded and set his book aside. "You'll bring her back, Jason... I know it." He scooted across the bed and slid down to the ground beside Jason. Taking the bigger man's hand, Cameron tugged Jason down beside him. Cameron knelt at his bedside and folded his hands together. "Dear God," he began, "keep watchin' over my mommy and my mommy's new baby until Jason can find them. I don't want them to be all lonely. Let 'em know that I miss them and I," he looked at Jason for a moment before closing his eyes again, "that we love them and want them home soon. Amen."

Jason couldn't move his lips or take a breath. His eyes, full of unshed tears squeezed shut as Cameron climbed back onto the bed. When he looked at Jason he gave a little sigh. "Amen, Jason... you have to say 'Amen.'"

Nodding, Jason found some air in his lungs and force it out for Cameron's sake. "Amen."

- Brookly, NY - Outside Artie's Booze 'n Balls -

Craig waited outside the bar, listening to the discordant sound of balls crashing together on nearly a dozen pool tables every time the door opened. He waited for no other reason than the fifth of Scotch beside him and the anger seething in his middle.

A couple stumbled out of a side door, the man leaning heavily on the woman. Craig watched as she steered him to the alley, behind some crates. The ma thought he was about to get lucky, it showed in his posture... the roaming of his hands over her rather generous assets... she was about to roll the poor slob. Her posture spoke volumes. Not nearly as drunk as her momentary boyfriend, she was already tugging at his wallet, trying to free it from the pocket as he slid his hand up her skirt.

If it was any other night, Craig might have let it go, watched the pro take Dorn's money and knock him over the head so he woke up hung-over and soaked in his own piss. But tonight... tonight, Dorn owed him big... and when a man owed him, Craig was going to get what he wanted even if the other man died trying.

Tired of the farce being played in the shadowed alley, Craig moved across the road, reaching into his back waistband for his pistol.

- Outside the Hardy House -

Jason came to an abrupt halt when he saw Cruz leaning against the side of his car, just outside Audry's driveway.

"Hello, Jason."

Sizing up the detective, Jason answered back. "Cruz." He looked back over his shoulder and saw Audry's face in the window before she closed the drapes. "A bit late for a visit."

Cruz looked straight in his eyes. "For both of us."

Jason had to admit that the man was right. "I came to see Cameron."

Nodding sadly, Cruz looked at the upper floor of the house where a light had just gone off. "I know Lucky hasn't been by to see the boy at all since... you know."

The admission fed Jason's anger toward the younger Spenser. "He's missing his mother."

Cruz nodded thoughtfully. "I was just stopping by to ask Audry if she'd seen Ric Lansing since the trouble at the Metro Court." As Cruz began to move toward the house, Jason's voice stopped him short.

"Ric Lansing? What does he have to do with this?"

Shrugging, Cruz continued on, "Don't know if he does... but after he was relieved of duty during the crisis he seemed to just disappear. "So far we haven't found any trace of him, but Mac thinks-" He watched as Jason took off for his own car, "nice talking with you, Jason. As always."

- Brookly, NY - Outside Artie's Booze 'n Balls -

Dorn tasted blood. No. That was too simple of a word. His tongue was bathed in it. He'd probably swallowed a tooth, but his lips were too damaged to help him feel and he didn't want to risk cutting his tongue on his teeth of Craig decided to punch him again. "Wait."

A jab to his midsection doubled him over.

"Stop."

Craig stepped back far enough for Dorn to see the slumped body of a woman a few feet away. Observant of Dorn's curious stare, Craig sighed. "Don't feel too bad for her... she was going to rob you blind and stick a nail file between your ribs." He smiled at the sad shock he read in Dorn's eyes. "But if I don't get the information you promised me, Dorn... I'm going to stick her nail file in other places... "

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Private Room -

Elizabeth moved restlessly in her sleep, her hands reaching out into the semi-darkness for something that wasn't in the room... only in her head.

The park was warm... bright sunlight surrounded them. There in the sandbox, just inches away, was the small form of a little boy. He worked at the idea of building a sandcastle and wouldn't hear his mother when she told him he'd need to wet the sand first. He didn't really care about the castle she surmised, he enjoyed the digging and the pouring and as he worked diligently as they sat side by side she longed to study his face.

Soft chocolate curls bent with the soft breeze the floated through the park and as he looked up into her eyes again she reached out a hand to touch his face. "Cameron."

There was an emptiness beyond that word. She didn't know what was wrong with her...

- Brookly, NY - Outside Artie's Booze 'n Balls -

Dorn whimpered as he sank down into the gutter behind the bar. He'd been trying to keep the devil at bay by ignoring him... but that hadn't gone over well. Now, as the rain started to fall, Dorn felt the rush of his own blood from his leg into the gutter beneath him. Craig had been good to his word. He'd promised to let Dorn go after he got the information and he had. He'd left behind the woman's nail file... sunk deep into the flesh of Dorn's thigh. Severing the artery had been a bonus for Craig. He'd laughed at the gushing blood coating his hands and wiped them on Dorn's coat before he'd walked away.

His last thought, as Dorn lost consciousness, was that he hoped there was a pile up on the highway to Rhode Island and that Craig was dead in the middle of it.

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Private Room -

Ric entered the room and closed the door swiftly behind him. He leaned over the bed watching Elizabeth as she stirred from sleep. Seeing her blue eyes open and fix on him he grinned. "Hello, beautiful."

Elizabeth flinched at first and then seemed to shake off her initial reaction. "Ric... what time is it?"

Trying to ignore her reaction or assign blame for it, Ric made a conscious effort to keep a positive outlook on the situation. He was so close to having everything he wanted. "Elizabeth, sweetheart," he leaned closer, taking her hand in his, "I want you to remain calm." He could see her anxiety begin to build and so he stroked the back of her hand to soothe her. "It's Sonny," he schooled his features as he'd been practicing, "it seems he's in some trouble."

Her expression of concern was genuine and made him seethe with anger. "What happened? Did he call you for help?"

Ric pressed a kiss to her hand and held it tightly between his hands. "No. It's something else entirely," he lowered his gaze as he spoke because he could not seem to get the truth out of his eyes, "he wants me dead... and I'm afraid that when he comes after me, he'll hurt you and baby instead." Swallowing the bile of lies he finally met her eyes again. "So we have to leave, sweetheart... we have to run away... for the sake of our baby."


	22. Chapter 22

part 22

-Corinthos Coffee SUV -

Jason pushed the button to answer the call on his speaker phone. "Morgan."

"Oh, I'm so glad you picked up, Stonecold. That clue, delivered to you by the partner of your fair love's ex-spouse was most helpful."

"Spit it out, Spinelli."

"I have an image that I'd like for you to look over." A beep was heard and Jason took his eyes from the road long enough to look at the image. "Do you know them?"

Jason sighed. "Yeah. Two hired guns. Different families use them when they need muscle and not a lot of brains. I've never wanted to use them... too many problems from guys like that. What do you know?"

Spinelli's voice chirped over the speaker. "They're guarding the room of a "Jane Doe" patient who was admitted for symptoms like those that your fair love had been experiencing so I thought-"

"Give me the address... now, Spinelli!"

The hacker mumbled a little about taking away the excitement of a good heroic buildup and then, "sent it through to your GPS. Shall I send the men?"

"Yes, Spinelli... get them on the road. I'm headed there now."

Spinelli crunched through some kind of chip. "Satellite GPS shows that you're a little over two hours away from the Hartford Clinic, Stonecold, I-"

Jason clicked off the phone and stepped on the gas.

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Private Room -

The guards at the door were easily dealt with. With a quick show of force and manic glint in his eye, Craig sent the men running for the exit. The money, it seemed, wasn't good enough compensation for a shot in the middle... or a little lower. They weren't going to stick around for money alone.

Stepping inside the room, Craig was a little disappointed that only the patient was inside. The slender form in the bed bore some resemblance to the vibrant beauty of the woman he'd held hostage in the Metro Court. Tucked in beneath the snow white blankets of bed, Elizabeth Webber lost some of her vibrancy.

He leaned over the railing of her bed and swept his hand over her rounded belly. Viewing her closer he realized he'd made a few mistakes. She hadn't lost her beauty in this clinical setting... no, here in the harsh lights of the clinic her skin shone.

Craig had been impressed with her quick thinking during the Metro Court debacle. Even with the added pressure of gunmen in the room and the inept presence of that woman Carly, Elizabeth had soldiered through Robin Scorpio's surgery. There was something truly interesting about this woman. He stepped back from her bedside with a sigh. It was sad, really, that he was about to shake up her world, yet again.

Right before he reached the door it opened for him, swinging inward.

Craig smiled at the interruption, his hand moving quickly to his gun. He greeted the new addition with a smile and the click of a hammer. "Well, hello..."

- Port Charles Police Department -

Cruz crossed the room headed toward Mac's office and barely noticed Lucky sitting at his desk, but he heard the grunt that came from his friend. Cruz stopped to look at the other man and was shocked at what he saw. Lucky's face was gaunt, dark shadows crawling under his eyes. Even his shirt seemed to hang from his shoulders in an unnatural and unhealthy way.

"Where'd you come from, Cruz?"

"I was working on an angle."

Lucky shoved himself back in his chair. "You gonna share? Or are we going to play 20 questions?"

Cruz was saved when Mac threw open his door. "Cruz? I thought I said I wanted to see you right when you got back."

"I'm coming, Mac." Cruz hoped that Lucky didn't see the relief in his expression as he turned and walked away.

Lucky, on the other hand, knew something was wrong and followed Cruz, staying just out of sight from the door. The conversation inside was most interesting.

Mac's lowered voice was still easy to hear. "You bumped into Jason Morgan?"

"Just outside of Audry Hardy's house. I asked him about whether he'd seen Ric Lansing since the Metro Court..."

"So you think he was involved with something?"

Cruz's laugh was short. "Don't you?"

Mac sighed loudly. "Ric Lansing... Jason Morgan... are they both up to something?"

Lucky moved back to his desk and took out his badge and his gun. He had a feeling that somehow Jason was behind this whole Metro Court disaster and he was going to prove it and then crucify Jason Morgan with the information.

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Private Room -

Ewen opened the door, prepared for another session with Elizabeth, and almost walked right into Craig. "What are you doing here?"

Craig's smile only grew. "I should ask you the same thing, Ewen. I don't recall giving you permission to leave Australia."

Straightening his spine a little, Ewen stared Craig down. "I may owe you... more than I care to admit, but you don't have the right to keep me in Australia against my will."

"Well, we'll have to have a little talk about what I can make you do, but right now... I'm looking for a man named Ric Lansing." Craig's eyes glittered with menace. "He's got the biggest marker to call in... and it's time I called it."

Ewen couldn't believe the reprieve he'd been given and told Craig the truth, hoping to buy some time. "He's in Dr. Scoville's office."

Craig gave him a smile before he left the room. "You... I'll come back and deal with you... later."

-Corinthos Coffee SUV -

Jason answered another call. "Morgan."

"Jason, this is Cody."

Feeling relief flood through his body, Jason almost smiled. "You following the speed limits?"

"Hell no!" Jason could hear other men in the background noise.

Jason nodded even though no one else could see it. "I think I'll be needing your help."

There was a chorus of comments from the other side of the conversation and Cody capped it off with. "We're on the way, Jason... just leave something for us to clean up!"

"If it's Ric," Jason stated, a cold chill icing his veins, "he's mine... you guys can have what's left."

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Private Room

Ewen nudged the door open with the foot piece of the wheelchair and didn't care when he heard the harsh scratch of metal against the door. That was a small small thing compared to his current mission. He'd already thrown the fire alarm on his way back to her room. He knew the staff would be distracted for a few minutes. He stopped the chair at the bed side and lowered the rail that separated him from his sleeping patient.

"Elizabeth, wake up." He reached out a hand and shook her slightly. "Elizabeth," he ground out, "WAKE UP!"

Startled, Elizabeth tried to sit up in bed, but her growing middle didn't allow for an easy movement. She grabbed a hold of his arm as she drew back in fear. "What are you doing?"

"Remember, Elizabeth.. I'm one of your doctors."

"My doctor." Her voice held that dreamy quality that it did when she was recalling information that he'd planted in her mind. While he was happy it was working he needed her to be quick and sharp for this to work. "Yes."

Ewen began to disconnect the leads that were attached to her body, removing the belt that had the baby monitor's information. He knew the alarms would sound but with the whole hospital on alert from the fire alarm he had some time to get things going.

Having freed her of the leads and other equipment, Ewen gently lifted her from the bed and set her in the wheelchair.

"Where are we going?"

"Where are we going... that's a good question, Elizabeth." Ewen turned the wheelchair back toward the door and paused at the entrance. "First we need to get to my car..." He pushed her out into the hall, using the general confusion to remove her from the hospital, "from there... we'll just have to see."


	23. Chapter 23

Part 23

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Dr. Scoville's Office -

Ric hand one hand to his left ear as he struggled to hear the phone he held up his right. "What? What did you say?" He swore under his breath. "You just listen to me, dammit. You'll have that room ready when we get there... yes... Locks... the best you have... and it will be ready be when we get there... or you'll pay for this, Felix. I've got too much on you for you to screw me on this."

He shut the phone off and turned around trying to see out of the small window on the door. The alarm had been going off for about a minute and he wasn't worried about it. His men would let him know if there was danger. They'd call him.

Still, he grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. He wanted to check on Elizabeth.. the noise would frighten her.

When he swung the door open he stopped short. The man standing just outside had a rather unnerving smile on his face.

"Hello, Mr. Lansing."

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Side Door -

Ewen swung the door open and turned back to Elizabeth. "Alright... let's get you inside."

The cool evening air had a strange effect on her... the wind bracing against her skin roused her from her stupor. "Ric?" She blinked at the unfamiliar street lights and looked around the parking lot. "This isn't General Hospital."

Blowing out a breath he shakes his head. "No, Elizabeth. This isn't General Hospital. We need to go and get you somewhere safe."

"Safe... safe..." she sighed, "my studio..." she looked up with a hopeful spark in her eyes. "We could go to my studio."

Ewen didn't know what she was talking about. "That's the first place people would look," he guessed. "Remember what Ric said to you..." Reaching down he picked her up out of the wheelchair and set her into the passenger seat.

Elizabeth sat quietly in the seat, her mind pondering Ewen's prompt. "Ric said... Ric said," she looked up as Ewen sat down in the driver's seat, "Ric said Sonny wants our baby dead." Tears sprung up in her eyes as looked around the parking lot. "I bet it's Carly... or Faith... or... why can't they just leave us alone?"

Ewen fumbled with the car keys as he tried to get it in the ignition. He wasn't used to lying to good people and playing with Elizabeth Webber's mind made him feel dirty. Dirty, sick, and disgusting. He looked at her and took a breath to steel his nerves. At least with Ric, Ewen knew he could convince Ric to let him come with them and help Elizabeth. With Craig in the mix, Ewen swallowed, his throat suddenly dry and pained, with Craig... there were no guarantees. He had to get Elizabeth somewhere and figure out if Jason, the one Elizabeth would call out for in her sleep, was someone they could trust.

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Dr. Scoville's Office -

Ric tried to lean forward and look outside toward Elizabeth's room.

Catching the movement, Craig smiled. "Don't worry about our dear Queen Elizabeth, Mr. Lansing. She's just fine... for now." He nodded at Ric, telling him to back up into the office.

Unsure of the options he had beside compliance. He backed into the room, his eyes watching Craig every second. "I should really be with Elizabeth."

Craig's expression spoke volumes. "Yes, so you say." He tilted his head to the side. "That's why you did all of this... for Elizabeth."

"Yes," Ric seized the opportunity to capitalize on anything he thought might buy him some time, "I wanted her safe... to have her with people that love her." He shook his head. "She's been getting closer to Jason Morgan since her husband started taking pills. Jason Morgan of all people!" Ric held his hands out in an entreaty. "Brain-dead hired gun... what was she doing with a man like that. At least Lucky was a policeman... You don't understand! I had to get her away from all of them until she could see things clearly... I love her."

There was a shrewdness in Craig eyes. "I heard your worry when we talked on the phone, but I never knew you'd take her and run." Craig moved closer until he nearly towered over Ric. "You left me to twist, Mr. Lansing. In my experience... that means you never had any intent to follow through on our deal. And I don't take kindly to traitors, Mr. Lansing. I-"

"No... no... that's not what happened." Ric put his hands between them and tried to ward Craig off. "I got Elizabeth in the car and she was in so much pain... then the man you sent with her... he was gunned down in the doorway. I thought.. I thought..."

Craig's gaze turned cold and hard in a heartbeat. "You thought I was dead... you hoped I was dead."

The truth was plain in Ric's eyes.

The truth was a cruel thing... for Ric.

Craig lifted up his hands, pushing Ric's aside and closed them around Ric's throat. "That's not a good enough answer, Mr. Lansing."

Ric had no way to speak anymore... his throat was nearly closed.

Leaning in to Ric's ear he laughed. "You're out of this game, Lansing... you're out. Just think about this as you're losing air... once you're gone... I may have to see what it is about Elizabeth that's so special."

The wild look of pain in Ric's eyes dimmed a few moments later.

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Front Entrance -

Jason maneuvered his SUV around the emergency vehicles and parked somewhere short of the front door. He climbed out and grabbed a hold of the first staffer he could. "Excuse me."

"I'm sorry, I don't have time to-"

"Please," he begged her, "I'm looking for a woman... she was brought here over a week ago... preeclamp-"

"Preeclampsia?" The nurse stopped short. "The one with guards at her door?"

Jason felt his stomach twist inside of him. "Yes... where is she?"

She gave him a blank look. "She's in Room 213. But, with the fire alarms, they may have moved her somewhere-"

Jason was already running through the crowd headed for the front doors.

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Side Door -

Craig looked around the parking lot and picked out a Mercedes in the parking lot. A moment of effort and he was inside, and fixing the wiring he started the engine. He took the car to the exit and looked first in one direction... and then in the other. His mind whirled with different ideas... wondering. "Alright, Ewen... you can run... you can try... but I'll find you." On a whim he caught sight of the sign leading back toward Port Charles. "I bet you're taking her back home... aren't you?"

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Room 213 -

Jason stared at the empty bed, the leads hanging down from the machine and beeps echoing off the wall. He lifted the pillow and took in a deep breath. His eyes closed as he remembered her scent. "Elizabeth." Taking his phone out of his pocket, he dialed Spinelli. "Security cameras, Spinelli... you know the drill." He took another breath, drawing her scent in. "Make it fast. Please."


	24. Chapter 24

Part 24

- Ewen's Rental Car -

Ewen got back in the car, setting the package on the seat between them. He shoved the key in the ignition and threw the car into reverse. "I'm very sorry, Elizabeth, but you need to get the things out on your own." He looked around her at the road, crossing it quickly and taking the onramp back to the highway. "I'm very sorry, but we have to keep going."

She barely moved in the seat, one hand covering her belly she reached the other into the bag and withdrew a bottle of water. "So thirsty."

"Yes, yes... please, Elizabeth, drink the water. We have to get back on the road to Port Charles..." he looked sideways at her, wondering if the dark shadows he saw on her face were a product of the shadows in the car. "Who should we contact when we get there? Do you have any family?"

"Grams..." Elizabeth gasped out the word as her water bottle fell to the floor, "ow!"

- Dr. Fortner's Mercedes -

The further he went on the road... the more convinced that he was heading in the right direction. Ewen would take her back to Port Charles. The poor sod was like him in many ways, but Ewen always had that 'knight in shining armor' complex. He wanted to be a good guy and save the girl from the dragon.

Laughing to himself in the darkness of his wrongfully appropriated vehicle, Craig gripped the wheel a little tighter and wondered if it wasn't Ric Lansing that had been the dragon. He, he surmised was more of an evil wizard, but the end game was still the same. He was going to get the girl.

- Hartford Critical Care and Clinic - Room 213 -

Jason couldn't stand the wait and headed toward his car. Something deep down... in that place where he could feel her heart thundering... told him to get back outside. "Talk to me, Spinelli!"

"I'm working on it, Stonecold. I have all the security cameras in PC hooked up but you're out of state and out of state is like out of mind... at least my laptop's mind and really when you think about it-"

"Dammit, Spinelli... talk later, type faster."

Jason pushed through the front doors and weaved his way through the milling patients and staff. They were all preparing to go back inside as he climbed into his SUV. "Come on, Spinelli... I need to know where to go."

Spinelli mumbled something beneath his breath, followed by a chip-like crunch and a gulp of liquid. "I'm almost there..."

- Ewen's Rental Car -

"Oh no... please." Elizabeth's frantic voice rose to another level of panic. "I'm not... it's too soon."

Ewen gripped the wheel tighter and wished that the car could go just a little faster or they'd come across some kind of law enforcement officer... a police escort, while ironic, would really help at the moment. "Just breathe, Elizabeth, breathe."

"I'm trying... why," she gasped, "isn't Ric here?"

There was fear in her voice and when he could catch sight of her eyes... they were terrified. "It will all be fine... just wait and-"

"Wait?" She squirmed in the seat and pressed both hands over her middle. "This doesn't feel right."

"How was it before?"

"Before?" Elizabeth gasped in pain and missed Ewen's cringe.

He was terribly flustered and had slipped. 'THIS' Elizabeth had never had a baby... 'THIS' Elizabeth was pregnant for the first time. "It will all be fine, Elizabeth... we're," he looked out the window, "only about an hour outside of Port Charles and-"

A flash of headlights in his rearview mirror blinded him for a moment.

- Corinthos Coffee SUV -

Jason continued on the road, listening as Spinelli rattled on.

"I have car in a mini-mart parking lot. Someone got out and comes back with a bag full of something and gets back in. Hey," Spinelli offers a quick thought, "maybe they're just getting snacks... see, Stonecold, I'm sure everything is great and-"

"They get back in the car and go where?" Jason's eyes are glued on the road ahead.

"Uh... he got back in the car and they're back on the road to... hey, they're heading toward Port Charles!"

"And the men? Cody? Where are they?"

The crunch of a chip echoed in Jason's ears.

"They were nearly to the clinic when I figured out where your fair love was headed, so they've turned around and are coming up behind you."

"Faster." Jason ground the word past his clenched teeth. "Need to go faster."

- Ewen's Rental Car -

"Faster." Ewen mumbled beneath his breath. "We need to go faster." His arms locked straight, his leg pressed down on the gas pedal, Ewen willed the car to go faster as they swerved around an 18 wheeler in their way."

"Ow... careful!" Elizabeth, through her pain, called out a warning as their car narrowly missed a mini van in the land on her side of the car. "Please... watch out!" Her fear turned to pain as another twisting pain in her belly pressed her back against the seat. "I need help... pull over... call an ambulance!"

Ewen looked back in his mirror at the car following just behind them. "I can't, Elizabeth... I wish I could explain everything to you... but just understand that if we stop now.. if we pull over..." he looked at her even though her eyes were fixed on her belly and she couldn't see the earnest expression in his, "it's not going to be good for either of us."

- Dr. Fortner's Mercedes -

Craig had to laugh a little. The psychiatrist could certainly drive fast... too bad for Ewen, though, that he'd rented a run of the mill four door sedan. A Mercedes, a vehicle of superior construction and ridiculous power, had no problem keeping up.

Shifting, Craig pressed harder on the gas pedal.

Keeping up wasn't the issue any more... he didn't have to look in the mirror to see the wide Cheshire-like grin on his face. He was stalking his prey and in a few moments, he was going to catch the two little mice up ahead.

- Ewen's Rental Car -

Ewen looked into the rearview and paled. The headlights were gaining on them and he had already pushed the pedal to the floor. The traffic had thinned and he wished it hadn't. More traffic meant witnesses. More traffic meant cell phones. More traffic meant safety.

- Dr. Fortner's Mercedes -

The bumper of Ewen's car was so close, Craig could almost read the name of the rental car company from the bumper sticker.

Anticipation thrummed through his veins. He lived for moments like this... having someone he wanted just out of reach... the chase was exhilarating. It meant that when he finally had them in his grasp. He was going to enjoy it.

A lot.

- Ewen's Rental Car -

"I need to you brace yourself." The words were out of his mouth before he could even comprehend the horror that was gaining on them. "I need you to know something, Elizabeth." He looked down at her, but her eyes were closed as she leaned back against the seat. "I need you to know that I'm sorry for everything... that if I had it all to do it again... I wouldn't..." looking out the window he saw the abandoned gas station up again and the car behind them that was picking up speed. He knew he had to fix it... give her the command that would give her back all of her memories. "Elizabeth, I need you to look at me and hear what I have to say."

She struggled to lift her head toward him, every cell of her body seemed to be twisting in on itself. Still, she heard the urgency in his voice and she turned to look at him... meet his eyes with her own. "Wh... what is it?"

"Elizabeth, I-"

They both snapped forward in their seats as the car spun. They'd been hit from behind and Ewen struggled to keep control . He grabbed the wheel tightly and turned the car right before impact.

- Mile marker 215 -

Craig left the Mercedes running... lights off. He reached into his waistband and withdrew his gun. He had no idea of Ewen was armed. He wouldn't put it past the man, but at this point all he wanted to do was put a bullet in Ewen's over educated brain and...

He faltered a step. Then what? What we he going to do about Elizabeth Webber?

Craig shrugged. He'd figure all that out later... if she was still alive.


	25. Chapter 25

part 25

- Mile marker 215 -

As Craig skirted around the sedan, he had to give Ewen some credit. It couldn't have been easy to exercise control over an out of control car in full spin... and yet, he maneuvered the car so that the driver's side of the vehicle had taken the brunt of the impact.

When he reached the driver's door, he saw Ewen begin to come around from his shock, his hands grasping for the seat belt release. "Elizabeth?"

Craig bent down a little and saw the young mother out cold.

Reaching out his hand, Craig yanked open the door and pulled Ewen from the car by his shirt.

The psychiatrist was calling out to his passenger. "Elizabeth, wake up... you need to hear what I have to say."

"I think," Craig interjected, "YOU need to hear what I have to say, Ewen."

Weak from the impact, Ewen could only blink at the man who was holding him up on his feet. "She's not a part of this... let her go."

"I don't know," Craig reasoned, "she's pretty to look at... has men falling at her feet enough... I might want to keep her for awhile... have a little fu-"

"She's pregnant!" Ewen's hands grasped Craig's shirt as he spat blood. "Leave her alone."

A soft moan from the car caught their ears. The moan became a sob and then a cry. "Please? Someone..."

Ewen tried to press his luck. "Just call 911 and get her some help... please, I-"

"My baby," they didn't have to see her face to know her tears flowed freely down her cheeks, "my baby."

Craig watched Ewen's expression and couldn't help the chuckle that fell from his own lips. "You're half-way in love with the girl and it's only been days! What is it about Queen Elizabeth, hmm?"

- Corinthos Coffee SUV -

Jason pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose to ease the pain in his head. Even when Spinelli was mumbling something into the phone he couldn't shut out the little voice repeating words in the back of his head.

Cameron Webber, every inch his mother's son, had put such trust in Jason that he felt ultimately humbled by it. Would he do everything in his power to save her, yes? Would he die for her and their child? Yes... but the sound of Cam's voice and the feel of his hand on Jason's skin as he told the mob enforcer, 'You'll bring her back, Jason... I know it,' cut him down to his soul. He would move heaven and earth to get them back.

And then, he decided, then he was going to make sure he never left them alone again. Never.

- Mile marker 215 -

Craig listened to Ewen as the man babbled out his excuses for what he'd done. He told Craig the dirt that Lansing had on him... that he'd killed a man before... killed him for revenge. He told him about what Ric had made him do to Elizabeth... altering her memories... and how she'd fought him, asking for Jason the whole time. And how, as Elizabeth was wedged into the car, half unconscious, she was still asking for Jason more than Ric.

"Well, you want me to have sympathy for you, Ewen? Mercy? And yet you tried to take her memories... her very life from her? Isn't that another form of death?"

A distinct gurgle of sound escaped Ewen's lips and a froth of bloody bubbles filled the back of his mouth. "Please... she needs to hear the words."

"I think this is beyond what 'I'm Sorry' can fix, Ewen."

"No," he gasped, his eyes starting to roll back in his head, "the command to bring her back... it's... it's..." Ewen's face went slack and his body tore itself from Craig's grasp as the dead weight crumpled to the ground at his feet.

"Well," Craig sighed, "that was unfortunate."

- Corinthos Coffee SUV -

Jason squinted into the distance, one of the many closed roadside stores seemed to be a little busy. Smoke, still visible in the night sky, told him there'd been an accident. As he pulled the car to the side of the road he saw Craig, the man from the Metro Court, approaching the passenger side of a sedan.

He didn't have to see the car to know that Elizabeth was in it.

Throwing the car into P Jason leapt out and reached for his gun. "Move away from the car."

- Mile marker 215 -

Craig closed his eyes for a moment, cursing himself for being so distracted. "Jason Morgan, how nice of you to stop by and assist."

"Move away from the car or I'll shoot you where you stand."

"Oh," Craig laughed, "I don't think you will. You see," I'm standing right over Elizabeth Webber and I'd hate to think that she might be in the line of fire."

There was a shift in temperature, Craig was sure of it. The air around him suddenly became very cold.

"I don't miss."

"All right." Craig began to back away from the car. "I can see we're at somewhat of an impasse, but I believe-"

Jason put a bullet through the back of his head. He had no time to waste on the man. He had to get to Elizabeth.

- PCPD Cruiser -

Lucky couldn't believe his luck. On the other side of the highway was Jason Morgan's SUV and the son of a bitch shot a man... right there where he saw it. Swerving his car over the dirt median, Lucky turned on the sirens and lights and fumbled for his gun, a little throw away piece he'd picked up on a dark corner in Port Charles.

- Mile marker 215 -

Jason didn't waste time trying to see what police officer had pulled over he reached down and opened the passenger door. Crouching down beside Elizabeth he searched her body for any injuries. Finding no blood on the surface he touched the side of her face. "Elizabeth... please... open your eyes."

"Jason!" The unmistakable sound of Lucky's Spenser's voice grated on his nerves. "Step away from the car, Jason."

The irony of the moment did nothing to lighten Jason's growing temper. "Lucky, we need to get help for Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth?" The squeak in the boy's tone didn't help matters. "But she's... She's dead!"

"She's been in and accident, Lucky. We need to get her to General Hospital."

"How do I know she's really in there and you're not faking this so that I'll- You've had her hidden all this time? Damn you, Jason... I can't believe you kept her from me! Think of all the pain I went through, I-"

"Lucky!" Jason turned his face toward his shoulder."Shut up and call for help, dammit!"

The noise must have broken through. "Please... I need help."

"Elizabeth?" Jason smiled the slightest bit. "I need you to open your eyes and tell me if you're hurt."

Boots on gravel told Jason that Lucky was moving closer. "She's really in there? Elizabeth?"

Her eyes flickered open for a moment and they fell on Jason's face. "No... no!" She tried to turn, looking at the car. "Where's Ric?"

"Ric?" Lucky's voice crashed against Jason's eardrums. "What the hell has he got to do with this?"

Elizabeth pressed against the seat. "Did you... did you cause the accident?" She couldn't see the plain shock on Jason's face. "Did you hit our car? Ric said Sonny wanted us gone... " She began to gasp over and over again, her body threatening to hyperventilate.

"No," Jason barely found his voice... she wasn't making any sense, "I came for you, Elizabeth."

Her expression was nearly frozen in fear, her hands lifted to ward him off. "Please don't hurt me... I'm pregnant."

"I knew it," Lucky uttered a few choice swear words, "I knew you were behind this, Jason." Lucky pressed the barrel of his pistol against the back of Jason's head. "It's about time I did everyone a favor and got rid of you once and for all."


	26. Chapter 26

part 26

-Mile Marker 215 -

Jason felt the shudder of movement through the connection of the barrel against his head. Lucky's hands were shaking. He was probably coming down from a high and this wasn't the time to push him, not when Elizabeth was cowering in fear.

"You're scaring her, Lucky."

"No," the policeman argued, "I think she's afraid of you, Jason... just the way it's supposed to be."

Jason couldn't really argue about it. Her eyes were filled with fear, but there was something else wrong. Her face... her eyes... there was something missing in her expression. "Fine... she's afraid of me," he softened his tone, his eyes on Elizabeth, "then let me back away from her so you can put the gun do-"

"Do you think I'm a complete idiot?"

The barrel jabbed at the back of his head and Jason resisted the urge to knock Lucky to the ground. It wasn't safe with Elizabeth in the line of fire.

"Lucky?" Elizabeth's voice barely made a sound. "What are you... Why am I... What's going on?"

Jason felt Lucky's hesitation, heard the shuffle of his feet on the loose gravel beside the road and the mumbled epithets beneath his breath. "Just hold tight, Elizabeth..." he looked at her, hoping to get through the fear. The wide eyes that looked back at him were innocent and confused. "What did they do to you?"

"I said," Lucky pushed the barrel against Jason's head again, "get away from her!"

Jason began to rise slowly, his knees protested the motion even though he knew he had to go slow. Fast wasn't good when you had a jumpy trigger finger and an even jumpier man with a gun to your head. "Okay, Lucky... okay." Jason raised his arms. "I'm backing away."

"That's right," Lucky scoffed at him. "You better do it... or you'll find out what happens when someone messes with-"

Lucky's words ended abruptly and a moment later there was a dull thud.

"Go ahead, Jason," Cody holstered his gun, "take care of Elizabeth." He and Milo bent down to pick Lucky up by his arms. "He's gonna be out for awhile."

Milo nodded. "And he'll have a hell of a headache when he wakes up."

Turning back to the car, Jason moved slowly, his hands held out before him. "Elizabeth?"

She shook her head and whimpered. "Just leave me alone, Jason... please, if I ever meant anything to you, I-"

"Elizabeth... you might not know it right now... but I'm here to help you. I've been worried about you and I'm here to bring you home to Port Charles."

Shaking her head she gasped. "You came after Ric... he's your enemy, Sonny's enemy..." she paused, pressing her fingers against her temples, "it hurts... please."

"I need to get you to a hospital, Elizabeth. The accident... your baby... you might not know it but you need medical care..."

The pain lancing through her body said that he was right and still she looked like she might try to bolt. "Then call an ambulance, Jason..."

She watched in abject fear as he reached into his waistband and pulled out his gun, the grip pointed toward her as he moved closer. "Here... take it."

"No," she argued, "no guns. I don't want it."

"It's not for you," he explained, "I'm taking you to the hospital, Elizabeth, the gun is for you to protect your baby."

Elizabeth watched him and when he was close enough she reached out and took it from him.

"If you think I'm about to hurt you... you use it on me." He pointed at a switch on the gun. "Just take the safety off, point it at me... shoot."

He could see the fear falter in her eyes but her breaths were still fast, shallow, too shallow for his peace of mind.

"I'm going to pick you up and take you to my car." He looked at the crunched in driver's side. "This one's not going anywhere."

Elizabeth nodded and as he reached for her he watched her recoil as far as she could against the seat. Jason slipped one arm behind her and the other under her thighs, lifting her out of the car and up against his chest.

There, in her hands, was the gun he'd given her. "I'll..." she gasped, "do anything to protect this baby."

Jason nodded. "I know... let's get on the road." Moving easily with her body tucked lightly against his chest, Jason crossed back to his SUV and shifted his hand to grasp the door handle, swinging it open. "I'm going to slide you in the seat."

She nodded, her head falling to his shoulder. "Hurry... it hurts."

Jason froze, the pain in her voice almost too much to bear. "Where, Elizabeth? Where does it hurt?"

"It hurts all over."

Sliding her onto the seat he started to step back, his left hand reaching for the seat belt, but as he moved right hand away he felt something slick against his hand. Standing back, Jason held his hand up into the light of the streetlamps. Blood.

Wiping it off on his shirt, Jason buckled her in carefully and dashed for the driver's seat. Before he had the car in gear he hit the button for speed dial on the center console.

"Stonecold, have you-"

"Spinelli, call General Hospital and tell them to expect us."

The usual affable ring of Spinelli's voice was dampened quite a bit. "What's wrong? Is it something with your fair-"

"She's bleeding, Spinelli... call Dr. Lee and have her ready."

"Doctor Lee?" Elizabeth lifted her head, her eyes dazed with pain. "That's not my doctor. My doctor is... my... doctor... is..." Elizabeth drifted a bit. "I don't remember the name of my doctor..."

"What is she saying?" Spinelli's tone had sharpened and Jason could almost visualize the young man sitting on the very edge of his seat. "Of course Doctor Lee is her-"

"Elizabeth thinks I was sent to kill her."

"Most unusual, Stonecold," Spinelli mused, "most unusual."

Elizabeth looked up at Jason, an odd confusion twisting her features. She blinked at him... turned her head from one angle to another... punctuating her curious looks with soft gasps and moans. Her head, she squeezed her eyes shut, was pounding with pain to match the ones crawling across her middle.

"You look... different."

Jason nodded at her as he continued to talk to Spinelli. "Call Emily... call Monica... call anyone you think can help."

"Emily." Elizabeth struggled to clear her thoughts. "Yes, call Emily." She smoothed her hands over her belly. "You look... older, Jason... older than you should."

"Did she say older?" Spinelli's voice seemed to echo in the SUV.

Jason looked over at Elizabeth, her hand loosely gripped on the pistol in her lap. "Yeah... that's what she said."

"Elizabeth?"

She looked up at Jason, before her eyes turned back to the console of the SUV. "Yes?"

"Elizabeth this is Damien Spinelli, Stonecold's faithful Jedi padawan."

"Who?" She hissed in pain and looked up at Jason. "Who is that?"

Jason gripped the wheel tightly and willed the car to move faster.

"I'm a good friend to Jason, Elizabeth and I have one question for you. What year is it?"

Growling at the dashboard, Jason nearly lost his patience. "Spinelli, stop it."

"I am most assuredly serious, Stonecold." He cleared his throat. "Elizabeth, what year is it?"

Struggling against the pain she was almost determined not to answer the silly question. "You know what year it is... everyone does."

"No," Spinelli explained slowly, "I don't think we do."

Another pain shot through her middle and Elizabeth answered the question on a gasp. "2003... it's 2003! Please... I need help."

Spinelli couldn't agree more. "I'll add a psych consult to the request, Stonecold. It seems as though someone has been playing in her mind. We're going to need help with that too."

- General Hospital ER -

Monica Quartermain sat beside Alan as they watched Emily pacing back and forth before the intake doors. Kelly Lee leaned against the wall nearby counting off the procedures they'd have to do the instant Elizabeth came through the doors. Word had spread quickly through the hospital that one of their own, one they had recently mourned, was once again amongst the living.

Listening to Audrey's fearful words on the phone, Monica tried to set the woman at ease. "Audry... as soon as I know anything... anything... I'll call you." She paused. "If you want to bring Cameron to the hospital, he can sleep in the on-call room. Just drive safely, Audry."

When she hung up the call, Monica felt Alan's hand warm against her arm. She leaned into his shoulder and blinked away encroaching tears.

"She'll be alright," Alan squeezed her arm, "they'll all be fine... just you wait and see."

"I- I know..." Monica gasped, her free hand pressed to her heart, "it's just that so much has changed... so much pain... only to have hope returned to us... and now, if something happens to Elizabeth or that baby..."

Alan laced their fingers together. "They'll make it through... they'll be just fine."

Monica felt a terrible fear tremble inside her chest as a black SUV came to a stop just outside the ER doors. Kelly and a bunch of nurses ran outside to meet them.

Alan felt Monica's fingers bite into the flesh of his hand but he didn't mind. The pain helped him to focus his own nerves. There had been a few precious moments with Jason since the Metro Court had fallen into the hands of that madman and he wanted more. He wanted Elizabeth and her baby healthy because for Jason it would make all the difference.

When the doors opened up again and the orderlies pushed the stretcher into the ER, it was Elizabeth's pale body that they were bent over and as they disappeared behind another set of doors, he looked up at Jason.

Alan felt his own heart squeeze dangerously tight as he recognized the stain on Jason's shirt. Blood. He only prayed it wasn't Elizabeth's.


	27. Chapter 27

**so happy that i only have a few more chapters planned... please, for my sake... if you don't have something nice or just civil to say... please do NOT tell me about it... I'm writing this... for FUN... or at least I thought so... my muse is suffering for a bit... please forgive the short nature of this chapter

Part 27

Jason pushed the exam room curtain aside and he let it fall behind him. Kelly seemed to be all over Elizabeth, Epiphany on the other side of the table. Both women made quick work of reading her vitals and shouting out orders.

Kelly's voice rose above it all. "Let's get her to the OR!"

The room cleared faster than a heartbeat, orderlies wheeling the stretcher past Jason. He reached out a hand to touch Elizabeth's arm and she pulled it away.

Emily grabbed onto Jason's arm and held him in place. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's sick." Jason felt a hand close around his heart. "Ric did something to her... her mind."

"Jason," Emily leaned against him, "they'll take care of Elizabeth... come, sit down."

He didn't move, his eyes trained on the doors where they'd disappeared.

Spinelli burst through the doors with a confused man in a suit trailing behind him. "Stonecold, look!"

Jason barely moved, lifting his eyes only as high as Spinelli's face. "What is it?"

"Not it, Stonecold... WHO!" Spinelli gestured wildly to the man standing beside him. "This is the renowned doctor, Kevin Collins."

"Well," the soft spoken man shrugged a bit, "I am Kevin Collins, but more specific a psychiatrist." He looked about the room, taking in the sad, worrisome expressions. "I'm beginning to believe what this young man said to me... that there's someone in need of help?"

Spinelli interjected himself again. "As I explained before, it appears that the dastardly DA absconded with the beautiful young nurse Elizabeth who is my master's fair love and took her across state lines, making this a federal case, by the way, and it took my, the Jackal's, most amazing cyber skills to deduce what had happened, in fact, dispelling the idea that the same fair love was not, in fact, dead, but merely stolen away from her family and friends, including her young curly haired progeny, but now my master, Stonecold, also known as Jason Morgan, has wrested her from the evil doers and restored her to our most excellent home town of Port Charles and now you may aid us with rescuing her mind from the clutches of evil as well."

Everyone seemed to let out a breath as Spinelli stopped speaking and Kevin looked over at Jason. "While I believe I understood some of what he said, I think it's better if I talk to Jason."

Jason swung his head toward the closed doors leading to the operating rooms.

Alan cleared his throat. "Son?"

Jason looked up at him, his eyes narrowed over dark circled smudges. "Yeah?"

"Go with Kevin... let Kelly and the others take care of Elizabeth for now... she'll need you later."

Looking at Alan to Monica and then Emily as Nikolas walked up behind her. "Alright." Jason looked at Kevin. "Let's talk."

- General Hospital ER -

Kelly felt fear crawl up her spine and she began to sweat. The young woman on the table before her wasn't just a patient... she was a friend. "What does the fetal monitor tell us?"

Epiphany turned from the table to look at the readout. "Heart rate stable."

"Elizabeth? How are her vitals?"

There was a pause. "Erratic." Epiphany looked at Kelly from over her mask. "Whatever you do you've got to do it fast."

- Corinthos Coffee SUV 2 -

Cody ground a choice word or two from between his closed teeth. "Shut up."

"You're going to kill me, aren't you?" Lucky cowered in the passenger seat. "Then just get it over with."

"Shut it, Luckless."

"Someone will miss me... they'll come after you!"

Cody swerved the car off onto the shoulder of the road. "Look... I'm taking you back to Port Charles until you come off your withdrawal symptoms... but if you keep talking then I'm going to march you off into the woods and bury your ass where they'll never find you." He narrowed his gaze at the man. "Get it?"

Lucky hugged himself. "Got it."

-General Hospital ER -

Audry entered the sliding doors, Cameron running alongside of her. "Elizabeth? She's really here?"

Emily cried out and ran over to them, hugging Audry and Cameron in turn. Monica moved over to Audry's side. "You must be so confused, Audry... so are we." She smiled at Cameron. "Why doesn't Emily take Cameron to the cafeteria for some ice cream while I try to explain what we know."

With hesitation, Audry nodded and let go of Cameron's hand only when Emily took his other one. She looked at Alan and then back to Monica. "This is all too much to take in."

Cameron looked up at his aunt as they walked toward the hallway. "Did Jason bring my mom back? I knew he would!"

- General Hospital OR -

Kelly leaned over for the nurse to wipe the sweat from her forehead. "We have no choice, we have to take the baby now."

Epiphany didn't argue even though her heart was filled with worry and pain. She stood by and watched as Kelly made the incision and when the doctor reached in and delivered the child from his mother's womb it was Epiphany's hands that handed him to the pediatrician. She went with Dr. Kade to assist him, her eyes drawn to the soft blond cap of hair beneath the blood and tears sprang to her eyes.

- General Hospital Consult Room -

Kevin listened carefully to Jason as he explained the situation, sitting across the room in a borrowed set of scrubs. Everything from the first inkling he had that there was trouble at the Metro Court until he found Elizabeth cowering in the passenger seat of a rental car and brought her to GH. Jason finally looked up at Kevin. "Well?"

Perhaps it was just the oddity of the situation, listening to a man who many considered to be cold and heartless pour out in short and succinct phrases an entire saga of worry, frustration, hope and fear that kept Kevin from smiling completely from ear to ear. Instead he managed to keep his expression soft and thoughtful. "I do believe that's the most number of words 'anyone' has heard from you in one sitting since you became Jason Morgan." Kevin nodded as his thoughts continued to process. "I believe your friend is correct. There seems to be some kind of interference with her memories but whether it's natural... some kind of injury like you've experienced," Kevin watched Jason as carefully as the younger man watched him, "or something done deliberately to her."

Jason nodded slowly, absorbing the answers.

"You mentioned Ric Lansing."

His eyes narrowing, Jason nodded again. "He's dead now."

"Now," Kevin swallowed, his thoughts hidden, "but you think he was the one that had Elizabeth?"

"I know he was the one."

Kevin wasn't going to argue with 'that' tone of voice. No one would. "Okay. What's significant about 2003?"

Jason pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "Back in 2003... Elizabeth and Ric were together." He couldn't keep the sour tone from his voice. "They were married at some point. Ric was planning against Sonny... getting inside the... business."

"So," Kevin interjected, "if Ric Lansing had her... and if he was the one that 'brought' her to 2003 in her mind... why would he do that? What would that 'get' for him?"

-General Hospital ER -

_Cameron looked up at his aunt as they walked toward the hallway. "Did Jason bring my mom back? I knew he would!"_

Emily felt her throat close up when she looked into his dark brown eyes. His eyes were Zander, all energy and earnestness, but the hope etched into his smile... the soul that radiated from his little body was all Elizabeth. "She's here, sweetie, but Mommy's..." Emily looked back at the double doors that led to the operating rooms and then back at the young boy. "Mommy's been hurt by someone... she's had an accident and-"

"No." Cameron folded his arms over his chest and shook his head. "No... she's not." He looked up at Aunt. "I asked God to watch over Mommy and the baby. God wouldn't... Jason said... Jason?" Cameron darted around Emily avoiding her hands. "Jason?" Cameron ran for the curtained areas in the ER and darted into one, finding it empty. He spun around and ducked under another curtain to the surprise of an elderly woman being fitted for a cast. She offered him a weak smile but the boy, too young to understand what was going on turned back and ran into the center of the room. "JASON!"

- General Hospital Consult Room -

Jason's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his own name. It took him a moment to realize where it was coming from and who was making all that noise. Leaving Kevin behind, Jason threw open the door and ran down the hallway back to the ER waiting room. He picked up the little boy and lifted him up so he could look into the child's eyes. "Hey, Cam, what's wr-"

"Aunt Emily said you brought my mom back." He watched Jason nod. "You brought her back like I knew you would." Cam sucked in a breath and let it right back out again. "But you brought her back... BROKEN!"

That one word seemed to break them both. Cam lashed out at Jason, his little fists rained down on Jason's shoulders as tears coursed down his cheeks. Jason didn't try to stop him. He didn't try to calm him or give him any excuses. Jason let Cameron's anger rush over him like a river current as he sank to his knees.

- General Hospital OR -

Dr. Kade gave Kelly a thumbs up and mumbled through his mask. "We're good. She's got a healthy boy on her hands... a little early... we'll put him in NICU to monitor him for now and make sure that-"

Instruments sounded their alarm as Epiphany swung around to look at Kelly. "We're losing her."


	28. Chapter 28

Part 28

-General Hospital ICU-

Elizabeth listened to the rhythmic beeping that droned on in her ears, aware of little more than the sound and the heavy weight of her body. She breathed in and out and slowly became aware of the tubes in her nose, the pull of the IV in her hand, and the antiseptic smell in the air.

Her eyes were closed and the effort to open them was impossible. She needed more rest.

Beep... Beep... hiss...

Beep... Beep... hiss...

She moved her lips and tried to say... something... only there wasn't a sound coming from her lips.

-General Hospital ICU Hallway-

Jason stood outside Elizabeth's room, watching her through the slats in the window as he held Cameron in his arms. The boy had yelled and cried and then fell asleep on his shoulder. Emily had offered to find a bed for Cameron to lie down in, but Jason had refused to give him up, choosing to rock the boy back and forth as his shirt grew wet from Cam's open mouth, his tshirt balled up in Cam's fist.

"Jason?"

He didn't turn away from the window, but he heard the squeak of Alan's wheelchair as Emily pushed him up beside the window. "What did the doctor's say?"

Emily gave Alan a kiss on his cheek and walked away down the hall to give them some room.

Alan lifted his head to see into the window between the bottom slat of the drapes and the sill. "Kelly says the baby is fine. Do you want to know... what you have?"

Jason's arms tightened around the boy in his arms. "I'll wait. We'll see the baby together."

The rasp of Jason's voice drew a concerned look from his father.

"What about... Elizabeth?"

Alan shifted in the wheelchair, leaning full back against the chair to look up at Jason. "The problem was the blood loss coupled with some complications after... after they took the baby." Alan sighed. "She said she's seen it before in cases like this," he reached out and smoothed a hand over Cam's stockinged foot, "the mother holds on until the baby is born and then-"

"Not Elizabeth." Jason's tone was sure. "She wouldn't leave the baby. She wouldn't leave Cam. Not like this."

"We don't always get to choose when we go, Jason." Alan touched his son's arm trying to get his attention from the still form in the bed. "Sometimes you just do the best you can... protect your children... and then-"

"She wouldn't leave them." His stern tone disturbed Cameron and Jason had to shift him to the other shoulder as the boy grumbled in his sleep. "You don't know her like I do."

Alan's smile was lost on Jason, for the younger man had eyes only for the woman lying in bed. "You're right, son... I don't know her as well as you do... but I'm hoping when she's well enough," Alan touched his fingers to the window pane, "you'll allow us to come visit you and Elizabeth.. and the children."

Jason spared him a look, a question plain in his eyes.

"Something wrong?"

Leaning against the wall, Jason looked at his father. "She hasn't agreed to... I don't know if she'd want to-"

"I can see what 'you' want, Jason. The way you talked about her, the way you hold Cameron so close against you, you want them, Jason." Alan smiled and relaxed a bit. "And if I read the truth in Elizabeth's eyes... she wants you just as much."

-Corinthos Coffee Warehouse -

Lucky didn't fight Cody when the larger man said to, "Get out of the car, idiot." He walked between Cody and a couple of the other men. "Don't even think of running," Cody explained, "unless you want a bullet between your shoulder blades. Jason says he wants you in one piece, but if I place the bullet right nothing will fall off you... so just keep that thought in your head."

The warehouse was empty of workers, the security guard at the door had closed it behind them and locked it. The hollow thud of the bolt sent shivers down Lucky's spine.

"I'm not going to run."

Cody opened a door behind some pallets and waited for Lucky to step in ahead of him. There was a single chair in the center of the room and a table before it. "Have a seat. Make yourself... quiet."

Lucky stayed put. "Why here?" He nodded back toward the car. "Why can't you take me to the hospital to see Elizabeth?"

"You're staying put until I know you're not going to make an ass out of yourself." Cody watched the color and ire rise in Lucky's eyes. "Until then it's my responsibility to make sure you stay out of the way." He felt his own eyes snap with warning. "So don't push me."

-General Hospital ICU-

Elizabeth was lost, her mind in pieces. Just as one thought began to coalesce it fell to pieces in her mind. She remembered sounds, feelings, snippets of conversations, but nothing whole. Nothing real.

Nothing true.

And because she could not open her eyes she felt as though she was drowning in her tears.

There. In the darkness.

In the empty lonely place where she'd gone, she felt the touch of a hand on hers. Felt the touch that gave her hope.

-General Hospital ICU-

Emily wanted to bring Jason a blanket, but she knew if she touched him he'd wake up and she wanted him to sleep.

Cameron was asleep in the on-call room, Audry curled up beside him on the narrow bed. Emily had only been able to move him once Jason had fallen asleep beside Elizabeth's chair. Now as she watched the LCD readouts on the instruments she saw the spike in Elizabeth's blood pressure and heart rate. Something, Emily knew to expect, from a patient suffering from nightmares. Before she could move to soothe Elizabeth's mind Jason shifted in his chair and covered her hand with his own.

Emily watched the numbers on the screen begin to fall... stabilize... return to normal.

Wiping at unbidden tears she left the room to let them both rest.

-Alan Quartermain's Office-

Kevin looked up from his work at the computer and smiled at his host. "Thanks for lending me your office, Alan. As soon as they find me one of my own... I'll be out of your hair."

Alan brought his wheelchair to a stop before the desk. "No worries... I'm in no hurry to come back at the moment. We have a number of... family emergencies to deal with."

Nodding with understanding that only a fellow citizen of Port Charles would have, Kevin's expression darkened a bit. "Any word on Elizabeth?"

"She's... resting." Alan didn't have to say that he was worried, the look in his eyes spoke volumes. "I have to say that this is all a bittersweet moment for us." Sighing, he leaned back in his chair, folding his hands in his lap. "Another grandchild... a handsome boy... but the cost."

Kevin leaned forward on the desk, his eyes full of earnest belief. "Elizabeth will pull through, Alan. She's a strong young woman."

Alan's spirits rallied and he struggled to smile. "Yes... just like Emily, Elizabeth has such a strong spirit. She'll pull through..." he let his words, like his thoughts trail off between them. "What about you? What have you learned?"

"I had Audry's approval to search Elizabeth's records and I think I've found something that might explain... might shed some light on what they might have done to her mind."

-General Hospital NICU-

Spinelli stood watch at the window as Dr. Kade examined the vitals of Elizabeth's baby. Jason's baby. The little boy looked so lonely there in the NICU that Spinelli had forgone the camera observations and chosen to stand sentinel over him until his mother was awake and able to watch over her baby on her own.

Pressing his forehead to the glass and narrowing his eyes he was able to see the name on the tag.

Baby Boy Morgan


	29. Chapter 29

Part 29

-Alan Quartermain's Office-

Jason listened as Kevin explained his thoughts to Audry. The poor woman was at a loss. She alternated from looking at the doctor to her hands and then to Jason's face. She was trying so very hard to understand it all.

"I still can't get over the idea that she's been alive this whole time."

Kevin nodded.

She clutched her hands to her chest. "Cameron wouldn't stop telling me she was alive and I... I didn't believe him... he was so sure.. and I just told him again and again that his mother was in heaven... I was," she snatched up a tissue from the box and blotted her eyes, "I was so wrong."

Jason turned slightly in his chair. "Don't blame yourself... we all believed it."

She looked at him, her eyes searching for something. "But you listened to him... you found her... with Ric." Her knuckles turned white as she shook her head. "I thought she'd gotten that one out of her life."

"After Kelly told me about Elizabeth's condition, it was just a matter of letting Spinelli loose." Jason looked right into Audry's eyes. "Talking to Cam... helped me to see things clearly... for the first time... in a long time."

Audry listened to his words, her mind warring with her heart. "And Elizabeth? Where does she fit into things... into your life? What will you do when criminals come after you... after them?"

Jason looked at her and for the first time Audry saw real naked emotion in Jason Morgan's face... in his eyes. She saw worry... and she saw pain. "I'll find a way to protect them... that I can promise you."

Standing up from her chair, Audry looked from Kevin to Jason as she moved toward the door. "You can't promise me anything of the sort, Jason. You can't protect them from everything... but you'd better try, Jason... or you'll answer to me."

- General Hospital NICU-

Monica and Alan peered into the isolette as Dr. Kade finished his examination. He smiled at them. "Eager?"

Alan squeezed Monica's hand. "Very." He watched as the baby's hands reached up and made little fists. "You're sure the baby's fine?"

Dr. Kade leaned against the counter and looked down at the baby with a smile. "Amazingly so. Kelly performed the C-section beautifully, brought the baby out before it was under too much stress. If you ask me, this child will be just fine." He looked at the two doctor's hovering over the child. "Strong DNA... strong will... strong baby."

- Corinthos Coffee Office -

Jason arrived and met the guard at the door, recognizing him as a one of Maximus' men. Before he said a word the guard stepped aside. "He expected you."

They had been watching the hospital, Jason knew it had to be expected. Maximus was no fool and it would have been what he himself would have done.

Inside, Maximus stood and nodded when Jason entered the room. "Have a seat."

The seat across from the desk was a comfortable one. Jason set himself down in it. "Ric Lansing is dead. The man that started the disaster at the Metro Court is dead."

Maximus, leaned on his desk, his eyes watching Jason carefully. "And your woman?"

Jason sucked in a breath and let it out in a few harsh puffs. "She's alive." Another breath. "Our baby is alive."

"Boy or Girl?"

Jason paused. "I'm waiting to find out when Elizabeth is awake. We'll do it together." He looked straight at Maximus. "I'm here to find out... where we go from here."

The question didn't surprise the older man. He didn't react any more than to sit back in his chair and nod. "That's the question, isn't it?"

- General Hospital ICU -

Emily sat down in the chair beside the bed and tilted her head to look at Elizabeth. Her face was calm, almost like a mask, rather than a real face. She couldn't help but wonder when Elizabeth woke up, and she would, how everything was going to change. She'd been calling Lucky for hours but the phone had only gone to voice mail.

She knew... everyone knew... that Jason was the father of Elizabeth's baby. A secret didn't stay a secret very long and it didn't help that Jason had made it all public knowledge when he revealed that he was the father. Dr. Lee took care of the rest when she said that the paternity test said as much when people started to argue.

Emily reached out and touched Elizabeth's hand, squeezing it gently. "Oh, Lizzie... what's going to happen when you wake up... will you remember me?" Emily shut her eyes against the tears and sighed.

"Of course I'll remember you, Em... you're my best friend."

Emily looked up and blinked over and over at the woman in the bed. "Elizabeth? You're awake!"

- General Hospital NICU-

Monica smiled as the baby wrapped its hand around her finger. "Hello there, little boy."

"He's a handsome boy isn't he, Dr. Quartermain?" Epiphany smiled at the baby from the other side of the isolette. "Elizabeth sure has adorable babies."

"And we," Monica looked at Alan, "have adorable grandchildren."

-Corinthos Coffee Warehouse-

Jason looked at Maximus, his eyes narrowed. "How am I supposed to believe that you won't back out... that you won't change your mind?"

"It's a good question to ask." Maximus replied. "You're a careful man, Jason Morgan. That's what I've always liked about you. You didn't run wild or crazy like Sonny did."

"Did?" Jason sat up a little and felt the air around him. He felt no danger, but his thoughts had been occupied. "Where is he?" Jason realized that he hadn't heard from Sonny since the Metro Court.

Maximus smiled. "Don't worry, he's not dead. He's... retired. Sold me his business." Maximus stood and moved around his desk. "I have a business proposition of my own to offer you... if you're interested."

Jason looked straight into his eyes. "Talk."

-General Hospital ICU-

Dr. Kelly Lee finished her examination, cautious as the young nurse she knew so well watched her with wary eyes. "Your incision is healing nicely, Elizabeth." She picked up her clipboard and reached out to touch Elizabeth's arm, but paused when her patient drew back. "I know this must all be overwhelming for you... but just know that we're here to help you."

Elizabeth's gaze darted to Emily standing a few feet away and then back to the doctor. "And Dr. Meadows? Will she be coming in soon?"

Stepping forward, Emily smiled down at her friend. "Dr. Meadows hasn't..."

"Dr. Meadows is out sick, Elizabeth." Kelly gave Emily a little look of warning.

"Out sick..." Elizabeth struggled with the thought, her own mind whirling with thoughts that didn't seem her own. "...she's my doctor... isn't she?" She looked at Emily and found a bewildered stare so she turned to Kelly. "Do I know you?"

Kelly smiled softly and nodded. "I work with Dr. Meadows so you've seen me around. I think we said hello in the hallway a time or two."

"Okay." Elizabeth was still at odds somehow. She looked at Emily and blinked a few times... her eyes must be deceiving her. Emily looked... older... more mature. Her troubling thoughts had to be set aside for the moment, she had other concerns. "May I... may I see my baby now?"

-General Hospital NICU-

Kelly walked up to the isolette and gave Alan a smile. "Elizabeth's awake and asking to see her baby."

Excited, Alan smiled at Monica. "Call Jason, let him know that-"

Shaking her head, Kelly gave them both a sad look. "She thinks Dr. Meadows is her doctor."

Alan shared a concerned grimace with Monica. "Dr. Meadows hasn't worked here in years."

Kelly sighed. "Elizabeth still thinks she's in 2003." The sullen mood of the NICU was silent enough to hear the soft whirring of sounds from the machines and the concentrated hiss of a nearby oxygen tank. "She asked for Ric earlier and I still don't know what to tell her." She looked at the baby's chart. "I can take her down to see him for awhile... I can't bring her up here.. there are too many people to keep them away from her..."

Monica gasped in a little breath. "This is so horrible! Has Kevin been in to see her?"

Alan shook his head. "No, not yet."

"I just hope Kevin can get through to her." Monica watched Kelly prepare to wheel it from the room. Alan lifted his phone and began to dial.

-General Hospital ICU Hallway-

Jason nearly slipped as he ran from the elevator toward ICU, but he kept upright long enough to see Emily standing in the middle of the hall a downtrodden look on her face.

"What happened?" Jason set his hands on Emily's shoulders when she didn't answer him. "Alan said Elizabeth was awake... what happened?"

"She's awake. Kelly's bringing the baby down for her." She looked at Jason but didn't really meet his eyes.

"What else? What does she remember?" He hated asking the question, but he had to know.

"She's stuck, Jason... in 2003... we didn't challenge her. Kevin wants us to play along until he gets to talk to her."

The elevator opened and Jason watched Kelly wheel out the isolette. He couldn't help the way his feet moved so he could looked down into the box. The baby looked small and alone against the white sheet. The soft blond cap of hair on the baby's head made his heart thud painfully in his chest.

"Kelly," Jason barely made a sound as she drew closer, "can I-"

"Jason," she shook her head and gave him a sympathetic look. "Not now... talk to Kevin and see."

Emily opened the door for Kelly before she returned to Jason's side. "She should see her baby alone the first time, Jason... it's a... a bonding thing."

Jason couldn't move from the spot, his feet wouldn't move. He could barely breathe as he struggled to wait for his chance to talk to Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth," Jason could hear Kelly Lee's voice through the shut door and beyond it was Elizabeth's own voice tense with emotion, "please... calm down."

"No! No!"

Jason wanted to run into the room, but Emily held onto his arm.

"That's not... that's not," Elizabeth's voice was thin and shaking, "my baby!"

The door opened and Kelly pushed the isolette from the room. Emily moved forward and took control of it and nodded to Kelly.

The OB sighed. "Call Kevin, we need him."

She shut the door behind her and Jason heard Elizabeth sobbing inside the room, but he couldn't help how his feet moved him to Emily's side even as he dialed Kevin's cell number. While the phone rang he looked down into the isolette and saw the baby staring back at him, fists clenched and feet wriggling beneath his blanket. HIS blanket. Jason saw the card in the isolette's wall and even though the color reached his thoughts it was the words BABY BOY MORGAN that threatened to steal his breath away.

"Hello? Jason?" The call had been answered, Kevin was on the line. "Jason? What's wrong?"

As Jason flattened his hand against the clear wall of the isolette he struggled to find the words to say. "She... we need you... now."


	30. Chapter 30

- Elizabeth's Room -

Elizabeth flinched visibly when the door opened and Kevin made a note of it as he rounded the door, smiling. "Good morning, Elizabeth." He closed the door behind him. "Did Dr. Lee let you know that I was coming to see-"

"I want to see my baby."

Kevin's smile was meant to set her at ease, she tucked her legs tighter against her body and felt the pain in her middle. Strangely, it was the only comfort she had. The only proof that this was real. A real nightmare.

"That's why I'm here, Elizabeth. I'm here about your baby."

Fear, sharper and near debilitating, stabbed at her heart. "Is there something wrong?"

"Your baby is perfectly healthy. You've seen him for yourself."

"No!" Elizabeth shook her head and tears welled up in her eyes. "That's not my baby." She shook from head to toe. "He's not the baby I see in my head."

Kevin tried to hide his surprise, hiding his raised eyebrows with a nod.

"I just don't know what's going on," she murmured, "everyone looks so different."

"Different... how?" Kevin's tone was warm, inviting.

"They look different... older somehow..." she sighed, her throat tight with worry. "I don't know how it happened." Her fear shook her whole body. "Have you seen Ric? I haven't seen him since Dr. Keenan took me out of the clinic during the emergency. Have you seen him?"

"No, I haven't." The truth was easiest as long as it didn't threaten her psyche. "Have you been worried about him?"

The question sparked an immediate thought and Elizabeth opened her mouth to answer and then closed it again as an odd look pinched her forehead. "Not really... I feel like I'm supposed to be... but..." she went silent again. "Only when I think about the baby... the baby I see in my head. I don't know what's wrong with me!"

- General Hospital NICU -

Dr. Lee opened the door and wasn't all that surprised to see Jason Morgan standing outside in the hallway. "How are you doing?"

Jason didn't answer with his voice, he looked up at her and she fought the urge to offer the man a hug. He was devastated. "How is the baby doing?"

She smiled at him. "The baby's fine... he's not gaining weight as quickly as we hoped, but that nothing dangerous."

She could see Jason's anxiety in his eyes. "What can I do?"

Kelly opened the door a little wider. "Come and hold him." The conflict in his expression was stark and she tried to find words for him. "I know you said you were going to wait for Elizabeth... but we don't know when she'll be... ready to see him again. Do you want him to wait for both of you?"

She saw him waver, but she wouldn't let him be until she'd had her say. "Jason, I've been more than Elizabeth's doctor... I've also been her friend." She urged him forward and closed the door to NICU behind him so that they were almost alone. Baby Morgan was the only one in NICU at the time and Kelly nodded to one of the nurses, asking them for some privacy.

When the nurse left, Kelly met Jason's eyes with her own. "When she spoke about the baby wondering which of you two were the father, she would brace herself when she spoke about Lucky."

He nodded. "It was the drugs," Jason replied. "She never knew what he was going to do from one day to the next."

Kelly tilted her head to the side and watched him carefully. "That's not what I saw."

- Elizabeth's Room -

"If there's one thing I can assure you of," Kevin began, "is that 'you,' Elizabeth, have people who love you. They want the best for you."

Elizabeth seemed to shift right before his eyes. "Ric wants the best for me. He's... he's..." she wavered as though losing her balance, "he's not the man he should be in my head. I'm married to him... but there's nothing inside when I say his name." She pressed her hands to her heart and let out a few breathy gasps. "I don't feel anything... and he's the father of my baby." Elizabeth tugged at the arm of her hospital gown and wiped her eyes on it. "Everything is so 'off.'"

Kevin moved his chair a little closer."You need to listen to that, Elizabeth." He gave her an encouraging smile. "Your gut reaction is very important."

"I'm so used to trusting the people around me," she shook from her head to her toe, "but they don't seem like they're... themselves..." she gasped in a breath, "and I'm beginning to wonder... if I'm... me."

- General Hospital NICU -

Kelly watched him carefully as he peered into the isolette at the baby. "She worried for Lucky, sure, but that wasn't the only thing. When she told me that you were the other possibility, I have to admit I was shocked. Elizabeth has known you just about as long as she's known Lucky, but there had always been something about the two of you that I wondered about. And when she said your name... when she thought about you... there was a softness to her voice... a wonder... like hope. I know what I heard, Jason... I know what I saw... and Elizabeth, she wanted this baby to be yours."

"So did I." Jason looked away, as if the admission shocked himself as well. "When Lucky nearly shot her on the pier, when she told us both that she was pregnant, I wanted the baby... I wanted her." He moved closer to the isolette, placing his large hand on the plastic wall and turning his head to stare at the baby within. "I remember feeling Cameron move inside of her, the joy on her face... how beautiful she was. I remembered that and I wanted to experience all again... with her... with our own child." He looked up at Kelly. "Then Carly told me the baby was Lucky's... and it really didn't seem to matter to me... I still wanted to be there... to be in their lives."

"And now," Kelly nodded, "you have that chance... with your son." Picking up a gown from the top of the pile she handed it to him. "Put this on and spend some time with your son."

- Elizabeth's Room -

Kevin rolled his chair closer, the mirror in his hand facing the floor. "It's your choice, Elizabeth. If you want to see for yourself, you have that power."

She didn't reach out at all. She looked at the mirror as if it was a snake that would bite her. She kept her distance. The idea seemed to really upset her. "I don't understand what you want me to do."

"I want you to look at the mirror... to see yourself as you are."

"This is a trick, isn't it?" He saw the worry and distrust in her eyes. "What did you do to the mirror?"

Kevin realized he was dangerously close to a break. He wasn't quite sure if it was a breakthrough or a breakdown. Still, this seemed to be the only way to get her to see that time had really left her behind. He turned the mirror right-side up and held it to his cheek. From the side of his eye he could see his own reflect in the surface. "See? It's me. There's nothing odd about the mirror, Elizabeth. It reflects the reality around it."

"Reality? Are you trying to tell me that I'm crazy?"

Her challenge startled him. The jump she'd made in her reasoning... or rather lack there-of didn't bode well for the session.

"That's not what I think at all, Elizabeth," Kevin paused to give her a chance to calm down, "I'm here to help you see things from another perspective... make things clearer in your head so they match that gut feeling of yours." He held out the mirror and she took it in her hands, settling it in her lap face-down.

"I'm... I'm not sure if I want to see things differently." Still, she began to lift the mirror up toward her face.

-General Hospital NICU-

If Jason had any worries about his bad-guy bad-boy image when he took of his leather jacket and slipped on the oddly-pink hospital gown he didn't show it. He was barely aware of Kelly's hands tying the strings behind his neck, the soft scrape of the chair that he pulled along with him to the side of the isolette, and the flare of the warming lights sparking spots of darkness in his eyes. Jason had no other thoughts than a mental checklist of how to hold the baby, how to support his neck, make him feel secure, and show him that he was loved.

Kelly lifted the cover of the isolette and reached in. "Hey there, little guy." She cooed at the baby when he fussed. "Oh, I know... you didn't want to be picked up right now... but you've got a special visitor today, sweetheart." She lifted the baby against her chest and adjusted the blanket around his body before leaning down.

Jason reached up for the baby and tried to ignore the way his hands shook. Try to ignore the empty feeling in his heart that was also full at the same time. Touching the baby, watching his little hands fist in the air in protest at losing the warmth of yet another person, only to be tucked tightly against Jason's chest.

The whine, turned to a hiccup, and then to a mew. By the time Jason adjusted his hold to secure the child in his embrace he'd fallen head over heels for the baby... when the baby's lips pressed together in protest over the sudden change he looked so much like his mother that Jason's chest tightened. "I'm your father." He sucked in a breath. "I'm going to take care of you forever." Little eyes fluttered open and he saw the shocking truth of blue staring back at him. "I wish your mother was here to see you."

"She will be, Jason. Soon."

Jason turned slightly in the chair and stared at the woman in the doorway.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

- General Hospital NICU-

Monica entered the room quietly, her eyes drawn to her grandson held in Jason's arms. "She will be... soon."

"Have you heard from Kevin?" Jason smoothed a hand over the baby's head and the fine dusting of golden blond hair. "How is Elizabeth doing?"

The sigh that escaped Monica's lips set his teeth grinding together. "It's not an easy fix. I discussed Elizabeth's treatment with him and I agreed with his methods. Without the 'command' that Dr. Keenan worked into the hypnosis, we have to move carefully. Too much of a shock could hurt her... send her into a break with either reality." She touched Jason's shoulder and was surprised when he didn't pull away. "It might take awhile, Jason. It may be as simple as a few sessions or it might take months."

"Or years." He saw Monica flinch and knew he wasn't off the mark.

- Elizabeth's Room -

Elizabeth saw the white of her hospital gown.

The ends of her hair.

She saw the soft white skin of her neck and dropped the mirror into her lap.

"No."

"Elizabeth," Kevin was gently nudging her with his voice, "try again."

"No." She turned her head toward the drape covered window and looked as though she could stare right through it. "You can look in the mirror because you know what you'll see what you always see." She shook her head. "What if I look in there and I see... someone else entirely! What if I look in the mirror and see..." she drifted off, her eyes stark with worry.

- General Hospital NICU-

"Elizabeth's progress is slow, Jason, but that's only because we're not just working with some kind of physical injury," she let the baby grasp one of her fingers in his hand, "or an emotional shock, but we're dealing with something completely confusing here." She pulled up a chair. "What ever this Dr. Keenan did... and under Ric Lansing's orders... we're flying in the dark here and Kevin isn't sure he can untangle this as quickly as we'd all like it to go."

"I should have been there for her, gotten her out of the Metro Court faster. I should have done more."

"You weren't anywhere near the MetroCourt when those men took everyone hostage. I couldn't have done anything from the hospital. Why do you assume it was your fault?"

"Because," Jason paused as the baby's fist bumped into his chest, "I should have been near Elizabeth. I should have been near our child." He shook his head. "It sounded crazy in my head. It sounds worse out loud."

Monica smoothed her hand down his arm. "You've always seen problems as something that you should fix. Even when you were... the other Jason you held yourself responsible for 'being there.'" She brushed her finger across the baby's cheek and watched as he turned toward her hand, his lips opening slightly. She got up to find the formula that the nurse had prepared for the baby. "I think that's why you got in the car with AJ before the accident." She handed the bottle to Jason and watched with pride as he shifted the baby to feed him. "Why you took care of Michael so well."

"I took care of Michael because he needed someone to take care of him. AJ was my brother, but I honestly don't remember why I got in the car. That's all gone."

Monica couldn't really add anything to his words.

Jason looked down at the baby and nodded. "I wonder what he'll be like when he grows up."

Giving Jason a shrug, she ventured an idea. "He'll ride a motorcycle around town and drive the girls crazy." Monica laughed at her own idea, a soft happy chuckle that brought a smile to Jason's lips as well.

"No," he turned the bottle slightly to make it easier for the baby to latch on, "he'll be more like Jason Quartermaine," he nodded, "he's got my genes... not my injury."

- Elizabeth's Room -

Kevin watched Elizabeth carefully. He couldn't bear the thought of pushing her too far too fast. No, he's seen her young son when he'd come with Audrey to the hospital and knew the love that the young boy felt for his mother. The two had each other from day one. Men had come and gone but Elizabeth and Cameron were a unit. They were sure in each other's love.

Love, that now, wasn't there... not yet... not in this time.

She refused to lift the mirror again. Horror paled her features every time she considered it. "I can't look at her again."

"The reflection is 'you,' Elizabeth... not just a 'her.'" He was calm and reasoned.

"It's all a mistake... it's a crazy freaky mistake!" She shook her head squeezed her eyes shut to lock out the world. "I can't look at her again."

"What's so wrong with 'her,' Elizabeth?" Kevin watched her carefully, hoping to see some sign of progress.

"She's sad..." her words were accompanied by a hiccup of a sob, "there's so much pain in her eyes."

"What do you think put it there?"

There was a long long pause as Elizabeth rocked on the bed. "I don't want to know. I don't. It's easier that way."

"Easier?" Kevin's laugh was a soft chuckle. "Easier isn't always better."

"No... but it's less scary."

"Scary?" Kevin folded his hands over his knee, his attention tuned to her every gesture and action. "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" Elizabeth's laughter was a bit too high pitched and a bit too tight to be normal. "Why does it have to mean anything?"

"A statement like that, Elizabeth, is always fraught with meaning."

"Maybe it's as simple as the fact that I don't want to open my eyes in the darkness... maybe I don't want to see what's there in the shadows. Maybe," she gasped, tears streaming down her cheeks, "I don't want to know that the gunfire I hear in my sleep is meant for me... or someone else I love." She nailed Kevin with a look. "I want my baby... with his dark hair and dark eyes... I want the reality in my head. I want what I expect to happen to happen. I want," she shook violently and curled up in a ball, "what I see in my he- in my head... in my head..."

Kevin watched in horror as Elizabeth's eyes rolled back and she convulsed. The monitors went wild and Kevin was nearly launched out of his chair as Epiphany and Emily barreled into the room. Epiphany shoved Kevin out of the door and pulled the curtain shut.

- General Hospital NICU -

Jason's chest clenched at the sound of the alarms. In his arms the baby began to fuss.

Over the loud speaker he heard the tight-voiced call for a Code... in Elizabeth's room.

He looked at the baby... at the isolette... at the room empty except for the two of them.

"Nurse? Nurse! I need help!" He looked down at the baby's blue eyes and the impossible fear he 'read' in them. "Something's wrong with your mother."

-Audrey's House-

Cameron wasn't having any of Audrey's reassurances. She had tried to explain it a thousand ways, but the problem with having a child... one that was both intelligent and willful... was that Cameron didn't just accept things that he was told. He'd learned the hard way that words were empty things if not backed up by action or visible proof. "I want to see my Mommy!"

Audrey flinched at the sound. She handled it the first hundred or so times, but now, his voice cracking along with her patience, he was starting to make himself sick. As if to prove his point, Cameron groaned and clutched his belly.

"What's the matter, Cameron?" Audrey sat down on the couch and drew Cameron toward her. "Something wrong with your tummy?"

The boy nodded and slumped over.

"Okay... okay," Audrey's voice was hollow with worry, "let's get your jacket and take you to General Hospital."


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

-GH Hallway outside of Elizabeth's Room -

By the time Jason found a nurse to keep watch over the baby and made his way down to Elizabeth's room, the door was shut to him and Emily was there to grab his arm and hold him back. "They're doing everything they can."

"What happened?" His voice grated out through his raw throat, his heart pounding in his chest.

Emily shook her head in disbelief. "She was having a session with Kevin and... and..." Emily had no other words for him as Jason turned around in a circle and spied the man he was looking for standing near the hub.

Kevin, to his credit, didn't run... and he didn't flinch when Jason advanced on him across the crowded floor.

"What happened?"

The menace in Jason's eyes was real.

"She understands that what's in her head is different than what her instincts tell her... she was struggling to decide if she wanted to explore her gut reaction, but I could tell the struggle was difficult for her. Still, I had no idea that her mind was warring with the idea so much. She was bright and seemed to be dealing with the stress-"

"She's good at hiding herself behind a smile." Jason's heart ached for the woman he loved, turning his head slightly he watched as a nurse rushed into the room. "She takes too much on herself."

"She was starting to really challenge the ideas that Dr. Keenan put in her head, the one thing that really keeps coming up... the conflict at the core of this whole mess is that she's seeing Cameron in her head, not the new baby. It's hard to challenge that idea without trying to force the real information into her mind. I've been trying to cue her thoughts in the right direction."

Emily smoothed her hand down Jason's arm. "She'll get through this, Jason... she will."

- Audrey's Car -

She had trouble buckling Cam into his car seat, he just wouldn't stop squirming and Audrey couldn't help letting her frustration find release in her voice. Still, Cameron's distress wasn't lost on her. "Cameron, sweetheart, please, held your great-grandmother."

"Mommy," he groaned, "I want my mommy."

Audrey's tears were instant. "I do, too, Cam... I do too."

He finally settled somewhat into his seat and she was able to buckle him in.

- General Hospital - Elizabeth's Room-

Jason walked into the room and saw Monica hovering by the bed, smoothing Elizabeth's hair back from her face. She turned and gave him a weary smile. "She's worn out."

It was true. Jason could see the strain in her face even as Elizabeth slept. "What happened... really?"

Monica's features pinched slightly and Jason realized that she wanted to hide something from him.

"I need the truth."

She nodded and beckoned him closer. "The strain of whatever it was they did to her mind... the strain of the pregnancy... the preeclampsia... it's all taken its toll, Jason. She's a strong woman... but-"

"No." He cut her off cold. "You don't know her. You don't know how strong she is."

"No matter how strong she is, Jason," Monica sighed when she looked the younger woman. "A human body can only take so much punishment without injury... permanent imagery."

"Leave."

Monica stepped back away from Jason. "I'm not just saying this, Jason... I-"

"Leave." He glared at her. "Now."

She opened her mouth as if to say something else, but instead she backed out the door and shut it behind her.

Jason sat down on a stool beside the bed and took her hand in his. He felt the faint heat of her body as if it was trapped beneath her skin instead of infusing her body with life. "Our baby wants you to wake up... and remember." He began to talk to her. "He has blue eyes... like us. His hair is a lot like mine when I was younger. He's the best of you," he sighed, "and the parts he has from me doesn't seem to mess it up... so we're lucky."

Elizabeth's hand was still in his.

"He's still got this big empty space on his information card where his name should be."

The machine's taunted him with their incessant noises.

"So I'm hoping you'll open your eyes and remember." He held her hand between his and willed her to open her eyes. "I want to see your eyes when you look at me and know... that you know... how much I love you."

Sliding off the stool he leaned over the bed. His hand pressed their joint hands to the center of his chest as he leaned over her still form to kiss her lips. He pulled back a scant inch and whispered to her. "Come back to us, Elizabeth... please."

The door behind him opened and he turned, startling Emily as she hovered in the doorway. "Audrey's here."

Jason left with his sister to go and see Audrey Hardy.

-General Hospital ER-

Audrey and Cam were shown into an exam area and Audrey set Cam up on the bed and waited for the doctor to see them. Nadine was the first one to poke her head in. "Mrs. Hardy, what are you doing in here?"

Audrey touched Cam on the shoulder. "Elizabeth's son has a stomach ache and I wanted to see-"

"I thought you were here about Elizabeth!"

Fear stabbed at Audrey's heart. "What happened?"

Nadine looked like she regretted her words. "She was having a session with Dr. Collins when she went into arrest and-"

"Watch Cameron," Audrey pushed past Nadine and into the hallway. "I'll be back."

Nadine gave Cameron a grin... an uncomfortable one. "Hey, Cam."

The boy just stared at her with his big dark eyes. "I want my mommy."

"Well," Nadine searched her head for something to say... and came up blank, "I'm sure she wants to see you too, but-"

"I want to see my mommy!" Cameron scooted to the edge of the bed, holding his arms out as he waited for her to lift him down to the floor.

"Uh," Nadine was at a loss, "Cam, I don't think I can-"

"Hello there, Cameron."

Nadine swung around and let out a happy gasp. "Dr. Quartermaine! How nice to see you!"

Alan gave her a quick smile and then turned back to Cameron. "I'm Jason's daddy."

"Jason?" Cameron brightened and bounced on the bed. "I know Jason."

Alan waved Nadine off and she disappeared with a smile.

Cameron looked at the older man. "Do you know my mommy, too?"

"Oh I know her very well." He gave the young boy a grin. "I work with her here at the hospital and her best friend is my daughter, Emily."

"Auntie Emily!" Cameron's hands reached up above his head. "I love my Auntie Emily!"

"Yes... and she loves you too, Cameron. You're a pretty special boy."

Cam grinned at him. "Mommy says that all the time!"

Nodding, Alan stepped up to the bed. "I bet you think she's pretty special too."

Looking up at the doctor, Cam seemed confused. "She's my mommy!"

"You're right... that's all that matters isn't it?" Alan held out his hands to Cameron. "Want to go for a walk?"

Cameron narrowed his eyes at the man standing before him. "Only if you take me to my mommy."

Alan gave him a smile. "I thought you had a tummy ache?"

With a little grin, Cameron completely won over the doctor. "I knew if I was sick, Grammy Audrey would take me to the hospital."

"Somehow, I wonder if you're not a bit of a Quartermaine after all." Alan helped Cam down to the ground and took his hand. "Let's go."

- General Hospital ICU Nurse's Hub -

Jason caught Audrey before she ran into Elizabeth's room. "She's resting."

Audrey gasped and clutched her hands to her chest. "She's alive... that's all that matters." She looked around and saw Kevin standing nearby. "I'm beginning to question your methods, Dr. Collins."

Kevin took it like a man... standing up. "Medicine isn't a perfect science, Mrs. Hardy." He shook his head. "But I would never do anything that I thought would hurt Elizabeth. I know that her children are depending on her and she's well loved by so many people."

"I understand what you're saying," she shook herself, "but I'm beginning to wonder when this nightmare will be over. And now, poor Cameron is ill."

"Cam?" Jason straightened up and looked at Audrey with real worry etched in his features. "What's wrong with Cameron?"

Audrey's emotions and focus shifted on a dime. "I brought him in with a stomach ache.. he's had it all day."

Jason stepped up beside Audrey. "Can you take me to see him?"

She looked at Jason and saw the real concern for the boy in his eyes. "I think he'd be happy to see you."

Jason gave her a nod. "I think I need to see him."


	33. Chapter 33

Part 33

-Elizabeth-

She was stuck in a nightmare. She'd had them before... she'd had them for months and months after her rape, the kind of nightmares that were endless cycles of fear and pain. She'd had them after Lucky died and she couldn't get the smell of fire out of her nose. Then she'd had them after her time in the crypt.

Still, no matter how bad they were, no matter how much her heart pounded and her head hurt... they would end and she'd wake up the next morning and find a way to get out of bed... but this dream... this hellish nightmare just wouldn't stop.

The Metrocourt... the fundraiser... had that all been a dream? Some of it had seemed real.

Robin shot.

Alan's heart attack.

The cramps.

Had they all been part of the nightmare.

Ric! A doctor altering her memories? This was just too crazy for words, and yet here she was living it... still... why couldn't she wake up?

-GH Staff Elevator-

Cameron held tight to Alan's hand as they stepped onto the elevator. The young boy looked around at te walls and the buttons. "This elevator looks different."

Alan smiled. "That's because it is, Cameron. This is the elevator that the doctors get to take to get to where we're going faster than other people."

"Like nurses?" Cam's gaze narrowed at the older man. "You should let nurses use it too... they're just like doctors... and probably do more stuff than you."

"Oh," he smiled at the honest assessment from the boy, "I'm sure they do. I'll be sure to let your mommy use it when she's ready to come back to work."

Cameron thought it through, nodding. "Okay. That's fair."

The doors slid open and Cameron followed Alan out into the hall, rising up on tip-toe so he could read the name cards on the different doors.

- GH Emergency Room-

Jason was a few steps ahead of Audrey when they reached the ER and swept back the curtain to bay #3. The room was empty.

Stepping back, Jason met Audrey's look with a question. "You said THREE, right?"

"Yes," she hurried up to his side and looked at the room, "I left Cameron here with Nadine."

Jason fought against the rising panic that twisted his heart. "Cameron!?"

There was no answer and the hubbub of activity in the ER seemed to camouflage his voice. "Cameron!"

A security guard stepped forward. "Sir, I'll have to ask you to-"

Jason shoved past him on the way to the desk. "Where's Nadine?"

Audrey was at his side. "Yes, page Nurse Cromwell, please... she has my great-grandson with her."

-General Hospital Hallway-

Alan stopped and waited for Cameron to read the name on the door.

"W-E-B-B-E-R!" Cameron grinned at the man. "That's my Mommy!"

Alan reached for the door and opened it. "Let's go see her, shall we?"

-Elizabeth-

The doctor had told her all kinds of things... putting thoughts into her head. She could only imagine that this is what Lucky had felt like. Like there were two people inside his head. One real and one a bunch of garbled information... but after awhile... it was really hard to tell which one was real... and which one...

Then her mind had done something she didn't even know she could. She built her own panic room. She built a room inside her head and she'd hidden away so that the words... the thoughts that the doctor had tried to shove in... could only go so far... for awhile, the thoughts had pounded on the door... trying to get in.

Screamed and stomped... kicked and threatened... and through it all... Ric had smiled at her... told her he loved her... it was all as messed up as it had been when they'd been together. When she'd loved him.

Then the 'other' had stopped trying to get in. She'd stopped doing pretty much of anything. She looked... she felt... tired... sad... fearful and listless. The 'other' didn't understand the world around her. Didn't understand anything.

-Elizabeth's Room-

Cameron stopped just inside the door. "It's really dark in here."

Alan lifted the chart from the foot of the bed with his free hand. "Your mom is sleeping, Cam, and I-"

He read the notes on her attack and let out a breath. "Maybe we ought to let her sleep for a bit."

"Nuh-uh!" Cameron pushed a chair closer to her bed and climbed up on it. "It's not time for sleepin' I want to see her."

"Well," Alan helped him up as much as he could with the pain in his stitches still healing, "but let's be kind of quiet so we don't bother anyone else."

"Mommy?" Cameron kicked off his sneakers and they fell to the floor with two dull thuds. "Mommy?" He shook her arm. "It's time to wake up and give me a big hug... I miss you so much. Mommy?"

-General Hospital Emergency Room-

Nadine ran outside from the break room and waved at Audrey. "Hey!"

"Where's Cameron?" Jason's eyes were snapping with barely leashed anger. "Where is he?"

Nadine took a step back. "What do you mean?"

"My great-grandson," Audrey's hands were pressed to her chest, "you were supposed to watch him!"

"He's with Doctor Quartermaine."

"Monica?" Audrey looked at Jason. "But how?"

"No," Nadine shook her head, "Alan."

-Elizabeth-

Elizabeth started suddenly. There weren't any sounds outside. The whole thing had gone quiet. Leaning her ear to the panic room door she listened intently for any sounds of the 'other.' Nothing.

Then, there was a sound like a door unlocking. A crisp metal click. A whoosh of contained air. And suddenly there was nothing against her cheek besides the cold air conditioning.

-Elizabeth's Room-

Cameron gave up on her arm, crawling up higher on the bed until he could touch her forehead with his own. "Please, Mommy... wake up. I love you, forever and ever and-"

"Ever." Elizabeth's eyes opened and her hands cupped Cameron's cheeks. "Hi, baby."


	34. Chapter 34

Part 34 -

-Elizabeth's Room-

Elizabeth blinked at Cameron, staring at him as if he'd disappear, her hands smoothing down his arms and brushing back his hair. "Oh, baby... I've missed you so much."

"I missed you too, Mommy... you were gone!"

Elizabeth nodded and pressed a kiss to each of his cheeks after his forehead. "I know... I know... but I never... ever... stopped loving you or the ba-" her face flushed and she gasped in a breath, "the baby."

"Is fine." Alan stepped a little closer and gave her a smile. "We brought the baby in but you..."

"I didn't think he was mine." Elizabeth's recount of the moment was spoken in a voice barely above a whisper. "I hoped that was just a nightmare." She looked at Alan with more than a hint of desperation in her eyes. "I AM awake... right?"

Alan nodded. "Very much so... and I believe in the right frame of mind."

"Paging Dr. Quartermaine... Doctor Alan Quartermaine..."

Looking up at the speaker above his head he gave Elizabeth a little grimace. "Looks like they discovered that I ran off with Cameron."

Elizabeth's curious look made him smile. "Where was he?"

Cameron's little face soured and he looked at his mother out of the corner of his eye. "I told Grammy Audrey a fib... just a LITTLE one!"

Alan stepped outside to answer the page.

Elizabeth lifted Cam's chin with her fingers and gave him a little smile. "How little?"

- General Hospital ER Hub -

The phone rang and Monica snapped up the handset. "Alan?" She nodded at Audrey and Jason. "Where is- Yes, but why- Alan, I don't see- Ahhh, okay." She gave Jason a smile. "Take Kevin back to Elizabeth's room. Cameron's with her."

Jason saw the smile on Monica's face and felt his heart begin to beat within his chest. He felt a hand on his arm and turned to Audrey.

"I'll bring Kevin... go."

Jason rounded the hub and ran for Elizabeth's room.

-Elizabeth's Room -

Elizabeth cuddled Cameron at her side, avoiding the tender stitches and her incision. "So we know it's not nice to lie to Grammy Audrey."

"Uh huh." Cameron smoothed the blanket with his hands. "No lying."

"I'm just glad that Dr. Quartermaine brought you to see me." She leaned back against the pillows and ran her fingers through Cam's hair. "I think you were just the person I needed to see."

"Elizabeth?"

At first she could only manage an indrawn breath as she stared at the man filling the doorway.

Jason looked at Cam who was sitting beside Elizabeth. The young boy was grinning ear to ear. "Jason!" He took Elizabeth's hand. "Mommy's back!"

He could barely nod in response, his eyes took in every nuance of her expression and his mind struggled to process it. He hung back in the doorway, watching her.

Elizabeth smiled at him, a soft wistful smile that lit her face. "Hi."

"Hi." He didn't know what else to say. He couldn't say what he wanted to... not until he knew he wasn't going to frighten her into another attack. "Looks like you've got a friend there."

"You mean Cameron?" She lifted their joined hands and kissed Cameron's fingers. "One of my babies." She saw the change in his expression and nodded. "I remember."

He nodded. Wordless. Breathless. As if he were standing on a cliff staring down into nothing, he had no idea what to do next. What to say to make sure that she was really back.

"And I'm hoping," she cuddled Cameron to her side, "that you'll have them bring our baby in."

It took a second. A long heavy click of the clock hands on the wall for Jason's mind to register the reality of her words. 'Our Baby.' The thought was almost too much for him to bear. Turning, he met Audrey and Monica standing in the hallway in conversation with Alan. By their expressions he could tell they'd heard some of what Elizabeth had said.

Alan was the first to recover from the shock of it all. "Why don't we take Cameron for some ice cream in the cafeteria." He looked over at Audrey. "I hear it's just the thing for a tummy ache."

Nodding, Audrey ducked past Jason to enter the room as Monica called up to the Maternity ward. Dr. Lee was happy to bring 'Baby Boy Morgan' to Elizabeth's room.

Cameron was only too happy to go with Grammy Audrey for ice cream but gave his mother a quick kiss on her cheek before he let Grammy lower him to the floor. After that, a quick high-five from Jason was his ticket out the door.

Elizabeth folded her hands once and then a second time as she watched Jason move further into the room. "I can't tell which one of us is more nervous."

He almost smiled as he advanced further. "I know I can't dream," he almost whispered the words, "but part of me is convinced that this is what it must feel like."

Her smile was a bit drawn at the corners. "I felt like I was trapped inside my own head," she sighed, "like those dreams I used to have where I couldn't wake myself up and it just kept on going."

"I've gone through a nightmare since the Metrocourt," he began, "thinking you were dead... hoping you were alive... finding out about the clinic... chasing after that doctor... only to lose you again when you thought," he blew out a breath, "you thought I was there to kill you... to take you away from Ri-"

"I remember parts of it...remember the hurt on your face."

He felt her words like a caress. "When I realized you were in labor... knew how early it was... I was afraid... really afraid." He continued on... talking in a way that Elizabeth wondered if it was possible for Jason Morgan to ramble on. "... and when they brought you into the ICU, I kept thinking about what I'd say to you when you woke up. Tell you that after all the fear and the worry that the only thing I was certain of... was that I want you in my life. I want us to be a family. I want you to ma-"

"Jason," she shook her head, "I wanted to tell you... I was going to tell you... but you don't have to say anything more." She gave him a soft grateful smile. "I would never keep you from this baby if it's what you want, but you don't need... you don't need to sacrifice your happiness like this."

"Elizabeth," he shook his head, a crease between his brows, "it's not like that I lo-"

"Looks like mommy has a visitor!" Kelly Lee's appearance shook them both, but Elizabeth recovered first.

She sat up a little straighter on the bed, her neck arched to see into the bassinette even as her hands clasped together over her heart.

Kelly stopped beside the bed and reached in, carefully lifting the baby and gently setting him in his mother's waiting arms. "He's been such a good boy... the darling of the ward. Every nurse there is totally in love with this little guy."

Elizabeth looked at the soft cap of blond hair and stifled a sob when the baby opened his eyes to show her ice blue eyes. "Oh my... hello, pumpkin."

Kelly touched Elizabeth's arm. "You guys get acquainted, call when you want someone to come get him, okay?"

Laughing and crying at the same time Elizabeth didn't even look up. "That won't be for a long time..." She looked over the baby's face in wonder. "You're perfect."

"All ten fingers and toes." Jason was at her side, his gaze focused on the two people before him. "I must have counted them a hundred times."

"I don't even have a name for you, sweetie," she drew in a breath, "and you've already spent days as Baby Boy... Morgan." She looked up with a smile. "So what about you, Jason?"

"Me?" He was shaken by the question.

" A name... is there something you'd like to call him... call our son?"

Jason sat down on the stool beside the bed, his legs no longer able to hold him up. "A name."

Elizabeth felt the baby turn his head toward her breast, his lips brushing against the soft cotton of her hospital gown. Another flutter of joy beat within her heart as she adjusted the gown so that she could nurse. The heavy fullness in her breasts eased as the baby's lips closed over her nipple and he began to suckle.

When she was able to lift her gaze to Jason she smiled. The look in his eyes was part amazement and part desire. There was something deeper as well. She wanted to believe that he loved her as much as she loved him. She wanted there to be something deeper between them than obligation.

"It's hard to believe," his words were little more than a whisper, "that night... long ago... when I grabbed that guy that was touching you... and you were so angry with me... and now-"

"And now," she reached out a hand to cover his hand on his knee, "and now you're the father of my son... my friend," she bit her lip, "you mean... so much to me."

Jason looked at her hand, so pale and beautiful... long tapered fingers and graceful curves beside the hard calluses and scars. "I knew back then that you were something beautiful... something that I couldn't... shouldn't be near." His lungs screamed for a breath. "Knew even when you pulled me up out of the snow that I should have died instead of bringing you into the life... into my life."

She squeezed his hand and made him look up at her. "I chose to help you, Jason. Chose to keep you in my life. Don't think I don't understand what you're saying... what you've always said, but I need you to know something, Jason." She gave him a heartbreakingly beautiful smile. "I-"

"I love you, Elizabeth." He swallowed his heart down back into his chest. "I love you when I know I shouldn't and I love you every minute of every day. I'm not sacrificing a thing when I tell you that I need you in my life. I need you and the boys... as a family. My family."

Elizabeth was stunned into silence as she wondered if she was now trapped in another kind of dream... one full of hope and love only to come crashing down around her ears. "Oh, Jason-"

"Don't..." he shook his head, "you don't have to say anything... I don't care if you need to think about this for a week... or a month... but just don't say no... not right now." He looked at the baby fixed at her breast and he swiped at a tear that slid down his cheek. "I just need to hope... to believe that you might want the same thing... that you might-"

"You're rambling," she grinned at the shock on his face, "and I can't help but love every rambling word that comes out of your mouth... because I love you, Jason. I love you... and it probably started that night... when you sat there and listened to me say everything that no one else would listen to. You sat there and let me just feel everything that I'd bottled up inside... and now," she took in a gasp of air, "look how far we've come." She nodded. "And maybe we can honor that start... again."

"All I know," Jason managed the squeeze the words out past the lump in his throat, "is that I'm here... with you... and I'm going to make this work."

"We," she corrected, "are going to make this work, Jason." She smiled at him as he lifted her hand to his lips. "Together."


	35. Epilogue

Epilogue

"Happy First Birthday, Jake!" Cameron gave his baby brother a big kiss while Audrey held Jake on her lap. "I'm gonna help you blow out your candles later!"

Jake blinked his wide blue eyes at his brother and laughed at the faces Cameron was making. The guests milled around the park drinking lemonade and fruit punch as the children played games on the blankets and enjoyed the swing sets nearby. Elizabeth moved from group to group thanking everyone for coming and refilling glasses. She had barely had two minutes to herself from the time she'd smacked her alarm clock that morning. Wiping her forehead with the back of her hand she continued on only to have someone grab her from the shade of a big oak tree.

Her surprised gasp was swallowed by Jason's eager kiss. Pressing her between his body and the trunk of the tree he cupped her face with his hand as he slanted his mouth over hers. He felt her moan as her body arched against his. Moments later he dragged himself away from her. "You taste good."

She smiled and held up the pitcher. "Lemonade."

Jason shook his head. "No... you."

Her eyelids lowered as she flashed him a flirtatious smile. "That's what you said last night too."

Jason leaned on the tree trunk as he moved closer. "I meant it then too, and-"

"There you are, Maternal One, I-" Spinelli stopped short and coughed, "I am so sorry for interrupting. Please forgive me!"

Elizabeth stepped away from Jason. "Don't worry, Spinelli, I need to go and get the games started anyway." She gave Spinelli a pat on his shoulder as she walked past.

Spinelli knew that even though Elizabeth had blown off his interruption he worried about Jason. Turning his gaze to his boss he was surprised to see a wistful smile on the man's face. Turning himself around, Spinelli realized that Jason was following his wife's every move with his eyes. "I never thought I'd say this... but you're," he looked at Jason and saw the man looking back at him with no suspicion or warning in his eyes, "human."

Jason clapped a hand down on Spinelli's shoulder and the boy winced, not knowing what to expect. "Go get some dip, Spinelli... enjoy the party..." Moving away from Spinelli, Jason caught sight of half a dozen SUVs with dark tinted windows pulling into the parking lot.

Across the clearing, Elizabeth reached down and picked up Jake from Audrey's arms and when Jason reached her side he took Cameron's hand and the family walked over to the parking lot to greet their newly arrived guests.

"Ciao Bella, Elizabeth!" Maximus leaned in to give Elizabeth a kiss on each cheek, lingering a little too long for Jason's comfort.

"Okay, Maximus... Maximus?"

The mob boss reluctantly leaned back and sighed. "Calm yourself, Jason," he turned to look at Jason even though his hands were still on Elizabeth's arms, "she wears your ring and you own her heart... I am only... stealing a few kisses."

"Uh uh," Cameron stepped in between his mother and the broad shouldered man, "Mommy kisses me... Mommy kisses Jakey... and Mommy kisses Daddy... not you, mister."

Maximus maneuvered his larger frame and knelt down on one knee. "I have been corrected and set straight, Cameron." He held out his hand and the boy, after some consideration, shook it firmly.

Standing with great effort, Maximus set his larger hand on Cameron's shoulder and shook Jason's hand. "Congratulations to you and your family, Jason."

"Thank you, Maximus." And Jason meant it. In the last year the four of them had truly become a family, along with everything that was included. Diaper changes and crying jags, temper tantrums and breakfast table meltdowns. Through it all, Jason and Elizabeth had only grown closer until they were easy around each other as they moved around their home and no matter where they were a simple touch or a look was all it took to communicate a wealth of information... and yes, love.

Max and Milo stepped forward, now acclimated to their own roles within the new organization, and presented presents to both Jake and Cameron. The baby lurched forward and grabbed onto Milo's nose and the three Giambetti men chuckled as Jake laughed straight from his little round belly. The guards surrounding the area eased noticeably.

Maximus clapped Jason on the shoulder. "How is life these days?"

Jason nodded. "Good... very good."

"Do you miss the business?" Max gave Elizabeth a soft kiss on her cheek and looked back at Jason. "Any withdrawal symptoms?"

"Not in the least." He tousled Cameron's curls. "I'm busy with the foundation and with Elizabeth and the boys..." Jason reached out his arm and drew Elizabeth against him with his hand on her hip, "I have more than enough to keep me busy."

"The Giambetti family is always happy to donate to your foundation... just let us know."

Jason answered before Elizabeth could. "Thank you, Maximus... but you have so many causes that you already donate to..."

The older man waved off the rest of Jason's response. "Speaking of which... I must get back to the warehouse." He smoothed his hand over Jake's spikey hair. "Take care of your family, Jason."

"I will."

Maximus gestured for Jason to step aside and he did, leaving Elizabeth and the boys talking to Milo and Max in the protective circle of their guards. Lowering his voice, Maximus gave Jason a knowing look. "There is no one left to endanger your family."

Jason nodded. "I heard about the... 'accident.'"

Smiling as if he'd just enjoyed his favorite canoli, the elder Giambetti nodded with satisfaction. "No survivors... no worries." They didn't need to speak about Sonny and Carly... the pair had moved away eager to enjoy their lives in the manner to which their money could provide them... and the excess with which they lived had been their undoing. Sam had moved on to New York and plied her trade with a number of rich men. One of them had a dark side that even her meticulous research hadn't revealed. One late night as she'd fallen asleep, her plans to rob him blind firmly in her head he'd surprised her and was set to spend the rest of his life behind bars for the offense. Lucky had succumbed to his own demons earlier that year, traveling around the world to one hazardous locale after another. His own life had ended on a lonely stretch of road outside a small rural town. "You are free, Jason... don't squander this gift."

As the Giambetti's piled back into their cars, Jason took Jake from Elizabeth's arms and settled the baby against his chest. Jake was only so happy to lay his cheek on his father's chest and fist his hand in Jason's shirt. Brushing a kiss on his son's cheek he turned to look at Elizabeth. He saw the tears in her eyes and he worried. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing." She swiped at her tears and mustered up a smile on her lips. "I still feel so... thankful for every minute with you... with the boys."

"And I," Jason snaked his arm around her again and pulled her in for a kiss, "feel the same way." He leaned in for another kiss.

Right on the tail of the Giambetti visit, the Quartermaines descended upon the park with presents and hugs galore. The boys were in ice cream ecstasy by the time the party was over.

-That Night-

It didn't take much to put the children to sleep that night... they were both tuckered out from the fun and eager to cuddle into their own beds. When Jason opened the door to his bedroom he stopped short. Elizabeth stood beside the window clad in a nightgown that seemed near translucent in the moonlight.

As he stood there watching her, she turned and smiled. "Tired?"

He watched her reach out her hand to him and he closed the door behind him and removed his tshirt, dropping it on the bench at the foot of the bed. Elizabeth stepped into his arms and felt the warmth of his skin seep into hers as he fed from her lips with kiss after hungry kiss.

Her fingers combed through his hair as he moved them over toward the bed. Elizabeth moaned deep in her throat as she felt the backs of her legs bumped up against the side of the bed. Her fingers dug into Jason's shoulders as he lowered them down to the bed. With the firm mattress at her back she released his arms and reached for his jeans trying to shove them down off of his hips.

"Here," he mumbled against her lips, "let me help," Jason reached his hand between them to work at the button on his waistband and stopped suddenly, turning to sit up on the edge of the bed.

Elizabeth sat up carefully and looked at him. "Something wrong?"

Tentatively he leaned forward and reached his hand out, brushing the tips of his fingers over her belly. The swell he felt just below her bellybutton has his heart lodged firmly in his throat. "Elizabeth?"

She felt a tremor shiver through her body as he flattened his palm against her nearly flat stomach. "Figured it out, huh?" She laughed gently as she covered his hand with her own. "I was going to tell you later tonight, but you figured it out all by yourself."

Jason pulled Elizabeth into his embrace. "I know you didn't get pregnant all by yourself."

"No," she traced her fingertips along the bare expanse of his chest, "I had a little help with it."

"A little?" Jason's eyes were snapping with humor and something warmer than that.

"Okay," she admitted, "I had a lot of help with it." She slid out of his embrace and made quick work of his jeans, dropping them by the side of the bed with the rest of his clothing. "But I could use a little reminder every now and then." She pushed him onto his back and crawled up his body until she could ease herself over him. Their hands joined together over the small curve of their growing child.

Hours later, cuddled together beneath their blankets, Jason woke up and pressed a kiss to Elizabeth's lips as she slept. His wife stirred gently at his side, her hand sliding down his chest until Jason had to grit his teeth to keep from making a sound. "Jason?" She barely spoke above a whisper as she looked up into his eyes.

"Yeah?"

"If I'm dreaming... don't wake me."

Jason felt the heat of her palm on his bare skin and nodded. "No argument here."

She gave him a smile. "Good."

He slid his hand down to the swell of her backside and pulled her closer. "I love you, Mrs. Morgan."

"And I," she shifted her hand and felt him tense against her, "love you, Mr. Morgan."


End file.
